Unexpected Changes
by kussensloopx
Summary: After she inherited a mansion that serves as a base of operations for the Assassin Order, Vitoria decides to uncover the secrets of her family. She indirectly gets thrown into the middle of a war she did not know existed, in a land where Athenian democracy should be a thing, but isn't.
1. Prologue

**Hi!**

**Really awesome you clicked on this story, I am really curious what people might think of it because there is no Assassin of the games involved (some get mentioned). Only my own characters appear. So yeah. That.**

**Uhm... yeah. If some of you came for a history lesson I have to disappoint you. I made this all up lolz. Also, I kind of know how this story will go, so, that. Oh and I am curious if you guys like it - so if you do I will continue. If not... I will probably continue anyway. x] I have this thing going on where I am writing every night before bed, if I am not too tired. **

**It takes place in Greece around 1500. **

**My native language is not English, so I apologize in advance for mistakes that have yet to come. **

**Reviews are always welcome. **

**Have a good one and enjoy!**

**I do not own Assassin's Creed.**

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><p>The air felt stuffy as the sun shone fiercely down on the dusty ground of Athens. Vitoria, a young woman, was making her way towards the suburbs of the city. In her hands she held a simple basket filled with food. The market had been standing on the plaza, as it did every week, and she was asked to get some food with the money her father had earned.<p>

Vitoria wiped away a drop of sweat that was making its way down her forehead. The heat was killing her, lately. She was already aware of the fact that she wouldn't sleep well tonight. Her father probably wouldn't either.

The woman walked into the street where filthy people were sitting on the ground against their wooden front doors, some of them were even enjoying the sun. She greeted them as she walked by because she knew them. She had been living in the poorest part of Athens for most of her life.

A little further on the road she was walking on, a few decent houses were left. She lived in one of them. They were mostly made of wood, though.

The young woman opened up the front door to a small room where coats were hanging and shoes neatly placed. They didn't have a lot of coats nor shoes so it was a little empty.

"I'm home!" she chirped while – without even looking into the living room – entering the small hallway that was decorated with paintings. It were paintings of daily places like the court of justice in Athens. The majestic building covered almost the whole painting. At the bottom y a couple of heads, walking in any direction, could be seen. She was told that it was just a normal day in Athens. That's what her father liked about it and, therefore, bought it. This was way back when he still had the money to buy such luxury.

His favourite was a painting painted years ago. On the left side a tree with soft pink leaves could be seen. Behind the tree there was a lake and on the lake floated a simple wooden boat. A woman and a little girl were sitting on it. The woman smiled while the girl curiously had bent over the edge so that her tiny fingers could reach the water.

Vitoria remembered that day. She had only been four years old. Her father had wanted a painting of _the two he most loved_ (that, of course, was also the name of the painting). It had been a sunny day and she hadn't been able to sit still for a second, to the annoyance of the painter. Her father had told her that it was worth it. And now, it was. It was the only image of her mother they had left. Due to that painting she remembered her mother's face.

The woman moved on and placed the basket on the kitchen counter. She started to put the things she bought in the right places.

"I am glad you're home. I'd like you to meet someone."

Vitoria heard the sound of heavy boots walking through the hallway and the sound seemed familiar to her. It reminded her of the men of the City Watch.

She turned around to see her father, a man with a serious but friendly face and a trimmed beard. He was wearing simple clothes – not the fancy ones he had to wear to his work. The men next to him was an inch taller than her father. He was wearing plate armour. He had a sword established onto his belt, a red tabard with the symbol of the King – a griffin lined with Gold Dust, a rare type of cloth. He had brown eyes, a nose that was a little too big for his face and a wide mouth. The man looked older than her father. He had no scars on his face, but he did have a rough skin.

The man smiled and looked, overall, friendly.

"This is Arastoo Bronte, head of the City Watch. Arastoo, this is Vitoria. My daughter." Her father gave the two a glance.

"Nice to meet you, Vitoria." The man bowed before her to show her some respect. Important men did that to noble women. She didn't consider herself noble.

She smiled, kind of, not knowing what else to do. "Likewise, sir." Vitoria looked lost and her father noticed.

"Arastoo and I grew up in the same neighbourhood. He is a friend." He explained with a rich voice and Vitoria thanked him, without saying a word, for the explanation.

She glanced back towards Arastoo. "Well, I presume it must have been hard growing up with my father."

The man burst out in a hearty laugh while her father looked betrayed. "Finally, someone who understands the struggle." He got a poke from her father and Vitoria saw for the first time in many years the child-side of her father.

"Aren't we all getting along with each other. Nice. Didn't you have to go somewhere, Arastoo?" Her father gave the man an expectant glance and Arastoo chuckled.

"I did, Nicon," he said quasi-oblivious. His brown eyes darted towards her and he winked. "Goodbye, Vitoria."

Vitoria nodded and watched as the two walked down the hallway. Arastoo patted her father on the shoulder and waited a moment while Nicon rushed back into the living room to get something.

Vitoria was about to turn around, but got a glimpse of the thing her father gave to Arastoo. It was a sealed envelope. She wondered what was inside while her father said his goodbyes to Arastoo. Then she accepted it was her father's business and not hers. She acquiesced.

The woman put the last few things in place while her father closed the door.

Nicon was a man of honesty and equality. He had the right morals but the wrong job. Her father was one of the King's counsellors and always complaining about the man. Her father was known for his behaviour towards the King. Well, it was only one incident a long time ago where he spoke his mind – and his mind hadn't been kind towards the King. The King wanted to raise taxes and her father knew that this wasn't going to make the people happy (a lot of them were already poor). Also, the change wasn't necessary. Not for Greece's sake. For the King's sake, surely, and the noble men of Greece. But not Greece. So her father told the King the truth – which the King could've hanged him for. Her father, though, had done good things for the King and Greece in the past, so he wasn't executed. The King told him after he had spoke his mind: _"If you like the citizens that much, you would, surely, pay these taxes."_

So he did. And he was still doing this. For some reason, they didn't have a lot of money in the first place. And with those taxes they could barely make it through a week. But they managed. The King, however, didn't forget the words her father had spoken. Even though her father had done all these good things, the King didn't like him. This was reflected in his salary. But her father didn't care about the money. He cared about Greece. And its people. He wouldn't let the other counsellors, and the King himself, get to him. Without him, Greece would be ruled by a bunch of moneygrubbers.

"You know, I was thinking about getting a job," she said serious, still facing the kitchen counter. She heard her father stopping abruptly in his steps.

"Excuse me?" He wasn't a fan of Vitoria working. Actually, they had this conversation countless of times. She wanted to help out and for some reason he didn't want that.

He walked over to her.

"Yes. I was thinking, maybe I could work in that brothel. Sophia says it's really fancy and a good payment." Vitoria turned around to face her father who had a shocked expression on his face. She tried not to laugh, but she couldn't hold it in. His face was too darn funny.

When Nicon realized it was a joke, he was relieved. "You had me there," he said, closing his eyes for a second to let it all sink in.

"I'm surprised you fell for it. You're a counsellor, aren't you supposed to be good in detecting lies?" She quirked a brow.

"Well, we're better in spreading lies than detecting them. But, for what it's worth, you are a good liar. I believed you." They walked towards the small living room which consisted of a dinner table and two not-so comfortable couches. They sat at the table. A lot of papers were placed on it and Nicon shoved them away.

"You should go and see Sophia tomorrow, she's probably wondering where you've hid yourself for the past weeks."

Vitoria smiled at the thought of her friend. Sophia was about the same age as Vitoria, but her life was much more complicated. She was working – for a couple of years now – at Anastasia's House of Pleasure, a fancy brothel located in the heart of Athens. The only reason she was doing that was because of the money. After the death of her father, she felt like she had to take care of her mother and brother.

"Yes. I should. Tomorrow I will visit her."

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><p><em>Alvar<em>

With his arms crossed he watched the streets of Athens. He was standing on a rooftop, just observing the crowd. Behind him lay a guard of the City Watch, knocked out and not even close to consciousness. The Assassin wasn't assigned to do anything. His Mentor had taught him it was sometimes best to just observe how the citizens reacted, how they spent their days. It was important to know these things when he did get assigned a task.

"You really knocked the shit out of this guy huh, Alvar?" A voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Ion Patron, a fellow Assassin and considered friend.

"You know, Ion, I was doing something here," he said with a sigh.

Ion walked over to his friend and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. His eyes were covered by his hood, but his smile was visible. "I know. Standing is really important. I just wanted to make conversation, mate."

Alvar brushed with his left hand the fingers of his friend off. "Dryas and Leon aren't here, too, I hope?" He gazed questioningly towards the Assassin with the brown/red Assassin uniform.

Ion shook his head. "Nah, they were searching for food."

Alvar's eyes drifted back to the citizens who were still walking and shoving each other out of the way. Some were sitting against houses, others weren't in such a hurry. He took it all in. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" he replied.

The Assassin took in a deep breath and finally turned to Ion. "I'm heading back."

He walked over the rooftop and jumped down in an alley. He disappeared in the crowds. Alvar made sure that the City Watch didn't notice him. The base of operations for the Assassin Order was located on an isolated hill in Athens. It looked like a big, white mansion and it was a big, white mansion. As if someone could live in it. But the backyard was transformed into a trainings ground. So they could practice combat in the trainings ring without anyone noticing. A library was located in the mansion as well. Of course, the main thing was to do what the Mentor said, obey him, listen to him and learn from him. When he asked you to do something, you did it without question.

From afar the mansion already caught Alvar's eye. The citizens of Athens didn't bother to look around anymore, they didn't give a damn what was happening in that mansion, who lived in that mansion. They were afraid of the City Watch. Afraid that they might have done something wrong in the eyes of the king. That was the reason why no one stuck their noses in other people's business – it was fear that held everyone in their place.

The mansion was a gigantic, white building with pillars. It was standing on a hill, isolated from the other houses of Athens.

Alvar walked up the hill. The ground was dusty and dry. The sun shone fierce and he felt his skin almost burn. It was a really beautiful and old building with a lot of secrets. The man turned around to see the city laying beneath him, peacefully.

The entrance doors were major and white, accented with gold lines. Alvar entered and in front of him appeared a new pair of doors that lead to the library. If he looked right, the hallway he was standing in lead to a winding stairs made of stone and a door, located next to the steps, that lead to the kitchen. If he looked left, the hallway lead to a various of doors which were chambers of Assassins. The hallway took a right turn eventually.

He went left and walked past the chambers. Some of the doors were open, most of them weren't. He went outside, into the backyard, and immediately the sound of swords parrying each other could be heard. Assassins were training in the trainings ring, they were doing push ups on the ground, or were assassinating training dummies.

Then you had the two men who were sitting on the rooftop of the guesthouse (the guesthouse only consisted of more chambers for Assassins), eating. One Assassin was wearing a black uniform, the other one was wearing a brown/dark blue uniform.

Dryas Xanthos and Leon Lethos.

Alvar sighed upon the sight and walked until he was standing quite near (almost under) the two men. "It is quite a nice day. Why aren't you doing something meaningful?" He quirked a brow even though that wasn't visible due to the shadow caused by his hood.

Leon, the man with a stubble beard and the dark blue uniform, was the first who looked down and noticed him. "We are doing something meaningful. We are making sure that we do not starve to death," he replied matter-of-factly while taking another bite of the fruit he was eating.

"You would be surprised how many citizens of Athens die of starvation. Most of them in the suburbs," Dryas mumbled between bites.

Alvar sighed again, not willing to say one more thing about it. He knew better than to stand between Dryas and his food. That was akin to a death wish.

"Oh, Alvar..." Dryas called after him as he walked away to do something meaningful. "Adonai wanted to see you."

Alvar held up two fingers to let his friend know he heard him while he adjusted his path towards the mansion, not looking back once.

Adonai, the Mentor, was most of the time retreated in the library. But he, too, could be found on the rooftops of Athens.

The Assassin was back in the hallway, standing in front of the doors that lead to the library. The doors were mostly made of wood, metal and gold. He inhaled deeply before entering.


	2. The Snake

**Hey guyz!**

**Back again. A little chappie ready to serve. I promise you, soon the shit will happen. Don't worry. :}**

**Thanks for favoriting and/or following this story - you are the best. **

**Daphne101: Of course I remember you. We're from the same country. And you notice a lot of things, which is a good thing. I changed that as soon as you pointed it out to me - it probably will take a while before she is out of my system lolz. That sounds weird. And thank you. =D**

**Have a good day and enjoy!**

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><p>In all honesty, Athens wasn't the most beautiful city to live in. It smelled and one didn't even want to be outside after rain had drowned the city. There were beggars on, almost, every street corner and their stagnant pools of filth laid in various alleyways scattered throughout the city. The men of the City Watch used to scare them off. But after learning that the beggars returned no matter what, the City Watch just made sure they weren't in the way.<p>

Vitoria's footsteps echoed softly as she walked on the cobblestone streets. She was wearing a red gown that tipped the ground. It was an inexpensive, simple gown. The rough clothing was an evident example for that. Over her gown she wore a black cloak which billowed behind her.

She was thinking of Sophia. Her friend had told her that she was mostly working over night – which was kind of predictable – so she should be home at the moment.

Sophia was a really pretty, young woman. She had dark blonde hair and a slim figure. Their houses were only an hour apart – which wasn't that long.

Vitoria entered a quiet street with a lot of houses. The houses were really small and packed. Sophia lived in the corner house which didn't stand out _at all_ – except for being the corner house.

The woman knocked three times on the wooden front door and waited patiently. She could hear noises coming from the other side of the door. Then the door swung open and she stared into two very familiar green eyes.

"Vitoria!" Sophia exclaimed surprised and immediately wrapped her arms around her friend, pulling her in a tight embrace. "Where have you been?"

As much as Vitoria wanted to answer that question, it had to wait. "I'm trying to live here," she wheezed and Sophia lowered her arms in an instant to let her friend catch her breath.

"Sorry," she muttered sheepishly. Her face was graced with her pretty smile and then she looked at her friend from head to toe. "Wow, you look like a goddess! Did you meet someone new?" Her eyebrows wiggled while she let Vitoria into her house, closing the door behind her.

Vitoria shook her head while eyeing Sophia. "No."

Sophia wasn't done with taunting her friend and stepped up her game. "Maybe you got back together with that one guy. What was his name again? The one who proposed to you?"

"He did not propose to me," Vitoria mumbled promptly – maybe a little _too_ promptly. Sophia didn't notice, fortunately. "His name was Evando and no, I am not back together with him. In fact, I haven't seen him after we broke up. And that is considered a good thing."

The two women moved their selves from the small hallway towards the small living room which consisted of a wooden table, a couple of cabinets and a kitchen. Cushions placed on the ground served as chairs. The wooden table was on purpose so low to the ground. For some reason, Vitoria always liked Sophia's house. It was cosy.

"Hm. Too bad. He was kind, handsome and rich. The perfect man who wanted you! If only a man wanted me like that..." Sophia helped Vitoria by taking her cloak off and placed it gently on the table.

Vitoria rolled her eyes at her words. "I believe every man wants you in this city."

"But not like that, Vitoria." Both of the women knew they were entering dangerous territory. It depended on the mood they were in. Sometimes they could talk about Sophia's work and sometimes they couldn't.

"Where are your mother and brother?" Vitoria said quickly in an attempt to change the subject.

"They went out to buy dinner for tonight," Sophia replied simply. "Would you like something to drink?"

Vitoria shook her head and ran a hand through her long, dark brown hair. "No, thank you."

The two friends gave each other a glance.

"Do you remember the day when I told you for the first time about my work?" Sophia's face was graced with a smile, so she seemed to be in a good mood. Vitoria was also in a good mood.

"I do." Vitoria giggled. "I remember the anger I felt inside."

Sophia was now laughing too. "Yes! I, too, remember that. I thought you were going to hurt someone badly after that."

"I think I was planning on doing that, too. Luckily my father knew how to get me calm again." Vitoria smiled as she recalled her memories of that day. Her father had been talking to her for over an hour to get her calm. But, what could one do when a friend sold her body for money? Now, though, she could handle that fact much better.

Sophia was still chuckling while she wrapped an arm around her friend and pulled her close.

"I am so glad you came to visit me," she whispered in Vitoria's ear and hugged her tightly.

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><p>Beads of sweat came pouring down his body as Alvar pushed himself up and down. He had done both arms separately and together. His arms were throbbing with the exertion. He was panting and he doubted that he could continue much longer. He had been doing this exercise for over an hour.<p>

"Take a break, Alvar. It seems to me like you need one." Ion sat down on the edge of the fountain that was located in the big garden of the mansion while he held up Alvar's water skin.

Alvar eased himself back onto his knees and took the water skin from his friend. He put the rim of the skin to his lips and gulped down the refreshing water. When his thirst was satisfied he sat down next to Ion on the edge of the fountain – which, moreover, was working. He cupped his hand and splashed some water over his bare chest.

"Did you get a new assignment from Adonai the other day?" Ion asked in curiosity while tossing his friend a face cloth to clean himself up.

Alvar shook his head. "No, I did not." He wanted to say something else but their conversation got interrupted by loud voices.

Two men slowly moved into sight as their conversation reached Alvar's ears.

"I swear to you, Lazar. If you say one more word..."

"And then what? What are you going to do about it, Dryas?"

Alvar and Ion didn't have to take long to know where this was going. Lazar was a sly man with a venomous tongue. He knew all too well how to get anyone out of his shell. And Dryas had a temper.

"I have warned you, little snake. Get. Lost." Dryas was incredibly mad. His face was slowly turning red because of it, his words were spat out of his throat and his fists were clenched. The man was ready to strike Lazar.

"Hey!" Ion yelled while walking over towards the two and picking the side of Dryas. "You heard the man, Lazar. Get lost."

The Snake – as many called him – cocked his head a little in amusement. "Ion Patron. The good guy. Always helping those in need."

"I am not in need of help," Dryas growled and pushed his friend to the side, glowering at Lazar. And then he said to the Snake: "One more word and you will lose what makes you a man."

"Don't bother, Dryas."

The low voice came from behind Lazar and the Snake narrowed his eyes. He took a step to the side so that he had the three men in his view.

"Alvar. I heard you didn't get assigned a task. What a shame. I believe Adonai finally came to his senses and let the real Assassins do the work." A smile was creeping onto his face – a smile all three of them wanted to smack off.

Alvar, though, wasn't bothered by his comment. "Sure, Lazar. And I believe you are referring to yourself as a _real_ Assassin?"

The Snake didn't get the time to answer Alvar because Leon interrupted.

"Are you _really_ calling yourself a _real_ Assassin, Lazar? That is disappointing – even from you. Do you even _realize_ how wrong that sentence is? Have you ever considered to think about your words before speaking them out loud? It surely would help you a lot in the future otherwise you constantly will look stupid, just like you're looking stupid right now." Leon hadn't even caught the whole conversation – he just heard the words and to whom Alvar had spoken them. That was all too get the words rolling.

Lazar was now the one who seemed to be annoyed. He glowered at Leon, probably killing the man in his head.

"Leave," Alvar pressed the man. Lazar gave everyone one final glare before turning on his heels and walking away – four against one wasn't fair anyway.

"You want to tell us why you let him get to your head?" Alvar turned around to face his friend when he had watched Lazar walking away. Dryas was the broadest of the four but couldn't restrain himself.

Dryas shrugged, seeming to relax a little. "He was talking about my sister," the man spat. He was getting angry again when he thought about it.

Alvar was glaring at the ground, his hands placed on his hips, thinking about that. It wasn't the first time Lazar mocked Elene Xanthos. She was a courtesan in Anastasia's House of Pleasure and Lazar seemed to hate every courtesan in Greece. So that included Dryas' sister.

"One day we will punch him for every word he said. That day, however, is not today, my friend," Ion patted Dryas on the shoulder and Dryas just groaned in reply.

Alvar turned around, walking back towards the fountain where he had left his clothing to cover up his bare chest and his water skin. He threw his clothing over his shoulder and took another sip of the refreshing water, watching the training grounds closely. Two Assassins were fighting each other in the trainings ring. Some were sitting at the table in front of the guesthouse. Others were training their muscles. Lazar, however, was nowhere to be seen.

The man turned back around and strolled over to his friends.


	3. Farewell

**Yooooo guys!**

**I am atm soooo tired because I just came back from a concert. But I just wanted to post this one, y'know? Shit happens in this one.**

**The Forgotten Reader: Hehe x] I know right. But I love to write those because it's so fun. I can say the story is something else entirely. My mind can go craaaazyy at times, this story is created in one of those moments. lolz. And yes, you are correct, Vitoria and Alvar are the main characters. ^^ Aaaaaaaaaaaand, noo. It's not a history lesson, lolz. It's completely made up, fictional etc. I believe was a that time overrun (or something like that) by the Ottoman Empire. I think. And thank you for the kind words, my friend.**

**MrJaffaJack: Hey you =D. Damn. That's so messed up. RIP your Brotherhood. Glad to hear this cheered you up. However, I don't believe this chapter will cheer you up lolz. **

**Soooo. If anyone was wondering how I suddenly came up with this- I was inspired by Assassin's Creed: Unity. When that game is out, imma play that so hard like it's nobody's business. **

**Have a good one and enjoy.**

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><p>Vitoria was walking steadily over the cobblestone streets of Athens. Sophia and she had talked over well past dinner time, she even talked to her brother and mother for awhile. But Sophia had to work and Vitoria had to return home to her father. It was already getting dark.<p>

When she was near her home, the sound of heavy boots stamping on the cobblestone ground echoed through the street she was walking in. She didn't know why – maybe it was because it was dark outside – but she sprinted in the nearest alley. She pulled the hood up from her black cloak and waited until the four armoured men had passed the alley she was hiding in. Vitoria was a little surprised when the men didn't appear to be men of the City Watch. It had sounded like men of the City Watch but the armour told her otherwise.

She frowned, giving the men a final glance before hurrying in the direction of her house. Her father probably knew who they were – he knew almost everything.

Vitoria knocked on her door before realizing it was already open. Her heart started to hammer in her chest when she saw that the door was _forced_ open. The woman pushed the door open a little further and entered without making a single sound. Her eyes scanned the small room and noticed immediately that the ones who forced the front door open, also made a mess of everything. Things were lying on the ground, some paintings in the hallway were broken in half. Had they ransacked her home?

Accidentally, she stepped on something that seemed to make a loud noise through the entire house. Holding her breath – and cursing at herself for being so imprudent – she listened for movement. Nothing moved, but there was a sound coming from the bedroom of her father. It was akin to coughing.

"Father?" she finally dared to ask out loud. There was no answer – she didn't need an answer. Vitoria was already making her way towards the bedroom door of her father, opening it. She let out a cry when the room revealed itself to her.

Her father was lying on the floor, next to his bed. Blood was covering his clothing, the floor and various pieces of furniture which indicated that he had a fight before _this_ happened.

Before Vitoria realized it, her feet had already carried her towards her father. She fell down next to him on her knees, grabbing his hand with one hand while the other started to examine the wound. It was more a gaping hole than a wound. Even a fool could know that this was fatal.

"Vitoria?" Her father's voice was so soft, so _tiny_. It made her cry in an instant. She had never seen or heard her father _this_ weak, _this_ fragile, _this_ breakable.

"I'm here," she muttered almost inaudible. The lump in her throat made sure she couldn't pronounce a word – she couldn't swallow.

Nicon's hand squeezed weakly in hers while his blue eyes found hers. He tried to hide the pained expression, but he failed. "Go back... to Sophia. You are not safe here."

Vitoria frowned hopelessly, tears rolling down her cheeks. "No. I am not leaving you here to die. I am not doing that. We can fix this- I can fix this."

"Vitoria..." Her father closed his eyes for a moment. A silence fell between them. Her father seemed so calm compared to Vitoria. She was trembling.

"I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark... But, you need to go now. I already lost too much blood."

"But,"

"Vitoria." For only a moment his voice held the same strength as usual, his eyes staring directly in hers. For just a moment he was his normal self again. Then he sighed, exhaling his normal self with it. "I love you very much but you need to go. Remember this: Nothing is true, everything is permitted. Trust them..." He closed his eyes again. "Now, go."

"I am not ready."

"Go. Now."

Vitoria slowly rose to her feet. A horrified expression was written across her face while she looked down on her dying father. Their eyes met for one last time.

"Go," he whispered and despite every fiber of her being wanted to stay with him, holding his hand as his fire slowly died down, she obeyed him. Maybe it was too dangerous to stay in her home or maybe he didn't want her to watch him die. Vitoria did not know. She did know that the cold struck her like lightning once she made it outside.

Instead of running away towards Sophia, she was frozen to the ground in front of her own house. Her heart told her to get back inside, but her mind was telling her to listen to her father. _Leave him behind, there's nothing you can do for him anymore._

She was stuck between her heart and mind, and that was why she didn't move a muscle. She in tears and panicking, not fully realizing what was going on, yet vaguely progressing everything at once. _What was she supposed to do here?_

Apparently, life decided before she could make up her mind. From around the corner, four men – the same men from before who she had mistaken for men of the City Watch – came walking down the street. When they noticed her unmoving figure in front of her house, they started to run towards her.

Vitoria had no idea if they were the ones who stabbed her father in his own home, or why they were running in her direction, but her gut told her to flee. She started to run in the opposite direction of the men. Their boots were echoing loudly in the quiet streets. The adrenaline was pumping through her body, her mind was racing as she thought about a way to lose them. The woman made a sharp turn towards the right, the hood of her cloak falling down in the process and she almost tripped over her own feet. Then she made another sharp turn towards the left. Her breath came in ragged strokes as she heard the heavy boots of the men coming closer. Praying to every god she knew, she made another turn and suddenly it seemed as if someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her into an alley.

Startled and panting, she looked into the alley which consisted of a pile of crates and darkness. Nothing interesting was in it. Then her mind started to work again and the sound of pounding boots was extremely close.

Vitoria threw herself against the wall as the four men passed the alley without looking her way. She let out a trembling breath she didn't realize she had been holding, her eyes looking up at the dark sky filled with stars.

"Thank you," she muttered almost inaudible. She slowly sank to the ground while the sound of her heartbeat and the tears streaming down her face were the only things she was aware of. It was tempting to break down in this magical alley that saved her life, but the voice of her father told her not to. She had to find her friend- she had to find Sophia...

... and Sophia was at work.

Vitoria tried to swallow the lump in her throat, stood from the ground and then pushed herself off the wall. She made sure that the coast was clear and then ran in the opposite direction of the men.

As she neared the centre of the city, the streets became more noisy. Pubs were still open, drunken citizens strolled the streets or were snoring on plazas. Anastasia's House of Pleasure stood on its own in the centre of Athens. It was a large building with roses (and other flowers she could not name) climbing the walls and Bordeaux red material lining the edges of the roof, making it a building impossible to overlook. One had to climb two steps towards the two deep inset mahogany doors before one could enter the brothel.

Luckily, Vitoria didn't have to enter the brothel for a courtesan was standing on the courtyard, probably trying to lure men in or maybe she just wanted to get some fresh air.

When Vitoria neared the brothel, the strong smell of perfume hung heavily in the air around the building.

The woman inhaled deeply and steadied her thoughts, hoping she didn't look like a mess, as she neared the courtesan with beautiful black hair.

"What do you want?" the woman asked, moving her head upwards so that she could look down on Vitoria.

Vitoria tried not to be distracted by the courtesan's breasts that were almost popping out of her dress and said as friendly as she could manage: "I need to speak to Sophia."

"She is busy," she replied bluntly. Her eyes studying Vitoria from head to toe.

Vitoria tried to ignore her tone. "Yes. But when she is done, can you tell her that I have urgent news to tell her?"

"What is your name?"

For some reason, Vitoria felt small in the presence of the courtesan. The woman seemed so mature and female-ish. "Vitoria."

The courtesan narrowed her eyes, searching her memory for a Vitoria. Then, she studied her again, but this time her eyes didn't leave her face. She noticed the red colour on the cheeks, the sad expression in her eyes and decided Vitoria wasn't the enemy. "I will see what I can do for you, Vitoria."

Vitoria thanked her quietly and the courtesan climbed the two steps, entering the brothel. Now, she was alone, standing in the courtyard of a brothel in the middle of a crazy night.

It took Sophia two whole hours to get outside. And when she finally was, she walked around the courtyard, whispering the name of her friend – and finding her; shoulders slumped, facing the ground with fresh tears rolling down her cheeks on a bench in front of the brothel.

"Vitoria!" Sophia sat down beside her, her arms wrapping around her best friend and pulling her close. "What has happened?"

"My father..." she squeaked, not being able to say more than that.

Sophia's hands gently lifted her friend off her so that she could look in the blue eyes of Vitoria. "What happened to your father, Vitoria?" Her voice sounded demanding yet friendly at the same time.

"He is dead."

Sophia's expression was thoroughly appropriate. It was utterly surprised, then it changed to sorrow and finally she pulled her friend towards her, in a tight embrace. She had no words for her friend for she knew what this meant. Nicon had been the only relative of Vitoria.

"You are not alone Vitoria Terian," Sophia whispered strongly into her ear. "I will always be here. Don't you worry about anything, I will take care of you. You can stay with me, my mother and brother as long as you like, okay?" She gently rubbed Vitoria's back as she felt the tears sliding down her own neck.

She hugged her friend even more tighter than before.

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><p>Alvar made his way back towards the mansion, pushing the doors open towards the hallway and then pushing the double doors open towards the library. They opened with a tremendous screech, and as he stepped into the room, the floor board he placed his foot on squeaked. It was clear that no one could sneak up on anyone in the library.<p>

He was a little out of breath and hadn't thought his actions through. His Mentor wasn't one for uninvited visitors. Almost every time Alvar had entered the library, he found Adonai reading a book.

This time was different.

Adonai wasn't sitting at his desk or anywhere near a book or bookcase. He was nowhere to be found.

"Mentor?" Alvar questioned, his breath had steadied and his eyes peered through the library from under his hood.

"I am here, Alvar." The voice came from the upper floor where only more bookcases were placed.

Alvar walked up the stairs, his hand placed on the balustrade. He found his Mentor with hands clasped behind his back, staring out of the enormous window that looked down on the training grounds. The Assassin had no idea in which mood Adonai was right now.

"I am very sorry to disturb you, Master, but I have news from the suburbs of Athens." Alvar waited patiently until he was permitted to speak.

However, Adonai did not say anything, he did not gave him permission to speak. For a long time the two just stood, unmoving. One was glaring at one's back while the other looked down onto his pride. It took a great deal of patience to not disturb the silence and for a moment Alvar was considering to repeat his words – maybe his Mentor had not heard him the first time.

Then, Adonai let out a breath. He turned around to face his pupil, his dark eyes studying Alvar carefully. "I already know."

Alvar was confused. "Master?.."

"Bad news travels faster than lightning, Alvar. The death of Nicon weighs heavily on me." He blinked and his eyes glared back to Alvar. "That was the news you came to tell me, was it not?"

Alvar nodded quietly, letting his eyes linger on the floor boards were his Mentor was standing on. "I do not understand, Master. Nicon wasn't loved by the king, but he surely wouldn't murder his counsellor?"

Adonai inhaled deeply, letting the words sink in. "Maybe it wasn't the king who murdered him. Anyway, I need to think things through, Alvar. Can you close the door on your way out?"

Alvar bowed his head in respect to the head master of the Brotherhood. "As you wish, Master." He then turned around and walked down the stairs.


	4. The Vasco Bank

**Hello!**

**Back again, whoohoo. So this chapter is a thing. **

**MrJaffaJack: Well I am a playstation player. So, that. But thank you for offering anywayz. And yes. They really, really should hook up. Aaaaaaaand that is not a problem. I am very laid back with that kind of stuff. =] btw, I am planning on updating this story as soon as possible. It's so fun to write it. **

**mpowers045: It is around 1500 AD (around the time Ezio is working his butt off in Italy). Aaaand everyting you read is made up. :]**

**The Forgotten Reader: Because I am the most evil person you will meet on the planet and I like to kill every character off when given the chance. Just kidding, I am not ****_that_**** evil. ^^**

**So with that said, have a good day and enjoy!**

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><p>By thinking that Sophia's house was cosy, Vitoria didn't mean that she wanted to see it more often. Now, she saw the house every time she opened her eyes. Not that she was complaining about it – no she was grateful that Sophia's family wanted to have her like the mess she was. But she wished the circumstances were different.<p>

The death of her father had pulled her down completely. She couldn't be more lost in a world she knew than she was right now. She didn't know what to do or how to move on without her father. He made the money, he took care of things, he knew everything. Without him, she was just another lost woman, walking the streets of Athens, trying to find a purpose.

It had been three days after the worst night of her life. Those three days she had cried her heart out. She didn't eat, sleep or went outside for three days. Sometimes Sophia tried to comfort her, but it was impossible. She felt hollow while her father seemed to return to her head as soon as he left it. She was restless as her father's eyes seemed to haunt her everywhere. The idea that she could have saved him floated in her mind, pressing onto her shoulders and making her heart ache in sorrow. His death had been too sudden.

On the fourth day the words her father had spoken to her came crashing down and she decided to find out what they meant. Starting with questioning Sophia.

"Nothing is true, everything is permitted. Does that say anything to you?" Vitoria was standing with her hands on her hips, glancing questioningly at her friend who shrugged.

"Not really. Why?" Sophia took another bite out of her apple.

Vitoria shrugged helplessly. "My father said that to me. He told me to trust _them_. How can I trust _them _if _they_ are a bunch of words? I don't understand."

Sophia was frowning which meant that she was thinking _hard_. "Nothing is true and everything is permitted. It sounds a bit... _odd_. I mean, what does _everything_ even mean. Like stealing-an-apple-from-the-market _everything _or..."

"Killing a person?"

The two women gave each other a glance.

"Your father would never hurt someone, well, verbally he most definitely would, but not something that could make a man this angry. He was the kindest and wisest man I have ever met. And I meet a lot of men." Sophia winked and Vitoria rolled her eyes. She was about to say something else when a knock on the door startled both women.

Sophia rose to her feet (she had been sitting on one of the cushions on the floor) and strolled casually towards the front door. Vitoria watching her carefully.

"Hello?"

Vitoria couldn't see who was at the door, although she could hear a deep male's voice saying something to Sophia. She crossed her arms. Her gaze had lowered itself towards the floor while she felt the exhaustion washing over her.

"Yes. She is here. Would you like to speak to her?"

Vitoria's eyes narrowed and darted towards the hallway as she waited until Sophia came back to the living room, a crooked smile on her face.

"It is for you," she mumbled.

"Who is it?"

"He introduced himself as Arastoo Bronte."

While Sophia took another bite off her apple, Vitoria walked over to the front door. A deep frown was engraved in her forehead. Arastoo Bronte was the man her father introduced her to the day before his death. What did he want?

Arastoo Bronte was wearing the same armour as he had been wearing when she first met him. His expression, however, wasn't in the slightest playful as it had been when she first met him. It was sorrow. When his eyes met her own, he even seemed apologetic.

"Vitoria," he muttered softly. "As soon as I heard the news, I was desperate to find you. I cannot describe in words how truly sorry I am for your loss." He bowed his head ever so slightly to show her his respect.

"I am sorry too. He was your friend, was he not?" Vitoria cocked her head a little as she looked into the mourning eyes of Arastoo, biting her lip in the progress and trying not to let the tears spill that started to form in the corners of her eyes. He had bags under his eyes which was an indication of lack of sleep. He, too, had been struggling with this news.

Arastoo nodded and then said: "It is good to see you are safe here. But I did not come only to pay my respects. Nicon gave me an envelope when I visited him last time. In the envelope was written to whom he bequeathed his possessions."

Vitoria shrugged. "I am guessing that would be the house."

Arastoo opened his mouth to speak, then seemed to make up his mind and swallowed the words again. He finally managed to say: "Not quite. I am not sure if you will believe me if I told you, so I am offering you to let me show it to you."

She deepened her frown – if that was even possible – and gave the man a wary glance. She didn't know the man. Her father seemed to trust the man before he died, but she didn't grow up with this man. She had no idea who he was. Then again, he was head of the City Watch – which was kind of a big deal – and he was talking about her father's will!

"I swear to you, madam. No harm will come your way." He seemed confident of this.

"Alright," she muttered a little withdrawn, "where do we need to go?"

"The Vasco Bank."

"The bank of the king?" she asked surprised. Only people of noble birth had access – and enough money – to that bank. This was absurd. Was this some kind of dream?

"Like I said before, I can only show it to you."

Vitoria nodded. "Okay. Let me just get my cloak." She walked back through the hallway – grabbing her black cloak as she did so – and put it on in the living where Sophia quirked a brow at her actions.

"Going somewhere?.."

Vitoria nodded. "Yes. It seems that my father left some possessions behind. I'll tell you the full story when I get back." She turned around, already walking back towards the front door.

"I have to work early today!" Sophia yelled behind her.

"Then I will tell you it tomorrow!" Vitoria shouted back over her shoulder. She closed the door behind her and walked next to Arastoo while they made their way towards the centre of Athens.

The Great Plaza – as everyone referred to it as – was true to its name. It was the largest plaza of Athens and the most important one. The Vasco Bank was located at the Great Plaza, but the Court of Justice was also here where the king spent most of his days. On the plaza itself was usually some sort of market. The only time when the market wasn't there was when the gallows were used.

Vitoria looked up at the ropes, slightly swinging in the breeze. A cold shiver ran down her spine. She felt sick by looking at it already.

Arastoo noticed her expression and glared, too, towards the gallows. "It is placed next to the biggest market of Athens to strike fear in people's hearts."

She gave the head of the City Watch a disgusted look. She didn't say something to him, though. Fear was not the answer to control the people of Athens. Sooner or later someone with authority would see that surely.

Arastoo lead her to one of the majestic buildings that was standing on the Great Plaza: the Vasco Bank. The building, with three steps to climb, golden double doors, white pillars, golden text that said _Vasco Bank_ and two guards armed with large swords, was breathtaking. The whole plaza – except for the gallows, beggars and poor children running around – was breathtaking. The Court of Justice looked similar but it was larger and it had a balcony that looked down on the gallows. Sometimes the king stood on it, speaking to the people while three men were hanged. _Nauseating_.

The guards saluted Arastoo as he strolled by them with Vitoria right behind him. The inside of the Vasco Bank was very luxurious, the people were too. Guards were standing on every corner of the building, while men and women dressed in the most expensive clothes Vitoria had ever seen walked by, talking or laughing, wearing extremely over-the-top hats and what not. She did not fit in at all with her filthy black cloak. At the far end of the wall she saw white-coloured stairs going towards the upper floor. There were various hallways beginning in this room, leading towards God knows what.

She took one step, entering the building, and immediately stepping on a red and golden-accented carpet that covered almost the whole floor.

"Wait here," Arastoo murmured and walked over towards a man who seemed to work in this place.

In the meantime, a couple of noble birth walked passed Vitoria, giving her the most contemptuous glare she had ever received in her life. Vitoria just stared blankly back. Her mind was spinning while she tried to relax – which wasn't working at all. Her head was telling her to turn around and leave this ridiculous rich building. But she couldn't. She was here because of her father. So she had to hold her ground and just go with it.

After what felt like ages, Arastoo returned with a man who, hopefully, knew the way in this maze.

"He is going to lead you to the vault of your father. I will remain here..."

"Wait, you're not coming with me?" she interrupted the man, feeling a little shocked.

Arastoo's eyes showed compassion. "I thought it was better for you to go alone. But if you want, I can come with you."

Vitoria nodded. He was the only man she, sort of, knew in this place. She didn't want to be completely lost and, besides, he already knew what was inside the vault. The vault... Her father had a vault. She didn't know anyone with a vault at the Vasco Bank. This was all too darn confusing. Maybe her father had meant this when he had apologized for keeping her in the dark.

Arastoo told the man he was coming with them whereupon the man nodded and lead the way towards a hallway. They passed a couple of closed doors, turning left and right as they went until Vitoria was completely disoriented and didn't know which way was the right way to go back.

"The king made this bank a maze to let people get lost. It is harder for burglars or thieves to steal something this way," Arastoo whispered to Vitoria, who seemed impressed.

They took another turn towards the right and suddenly, at the end of the hallway, two guards were guarding a simple door. They saluted Arastoo and gave her glance while the man opened the door with a key.

Behind the door a spacious room appeared, consisting of three vaults. The one in the middle was hers.

Four different keys were needed to open the fairly, large vault and when the vault opened with a soft _thunk,_ the man bowed his head respectfully.

"I will be right outside this door when you are done." Then, he left. Closing the door behind him.

Vitoria just stared in bewilderment at the vault. Her heart was pounding really loud and her hands were sweaty; she was nervous. For some reason she was nervous to open it. What secrets did her father hide from her? What was going on?

A hand was placed on her shoulder and Arastoo gave her a reassuring smile. "It's okay."

She then started to walk further into the room, her eyes never straying from the vault. She inhaled deeply and then touched the cool metal, pulling the door open and revealing what was inside.

If Arastoo hadn't been in the room, she would've screamed. Loud.

"This... This cannot be," she stuttered, eyes wide in shock while staring into the vault. Her mind went blank. She was at a loss of words.

Golden coins. A _mountain_ of golden coins, three times her length and two times her width (it just barely fitted in the vault), had revealed itself. There was almost no room to step into the vault and walk (not that the vault was _that_ big). The golden coins were everywhere. This couldn't be just her father's money. This must have been collected over hundreds of years.

"I don't understand... I have been poor for most of my life." For the first time her eyes broke away from the mountain of money and looked at Arastoo, who was standing next to her.

"Well. The only thing he told me was that nobody knew of his... wealth. _Your_ wealth," the head of the City Watch replied softly. "And this is not all he possessed."

Her eyes grew even more wider. "There is more?!" she exclaimed.

Arastoo nodded. "Are you familiar with the white mansion on top of the hill, just outside the centre of Athens?"

She thought about that, her lips pressed in a firm line as she did so. Yes, she had seen the mansion once, or twice. Vitoria nodded, looking suspiciously back at Arastoo.

"It is yours."

Her mouth fell open. She didn't care that she wasn't behaving like a lady, she was too flabbergasted for that. "So now I own two houses and a pile of money. What am I supposed to do with all this money?"

He quirked a brow, considering his words. "Your father believed in a lot of things. I admired him for his honesty towards everyone, even when it could have killed him. If you must spend the money... Spend it on something in which he believed in and fought for."

Vitoria pursed her lips trying to register all this, and think. Her father believed in equality – he believed in freedom. He had been a counsellor for the king to help the citizens of Athens...

She nodded slowly. "Thank you, Arastoo. For everything, so far."

The man chuckled warmly. "My pleasure, Vitoria. I will give you the keys to the mansion, it came with the envelope." He walked towards the door, telling the man that they were done whereupon the man closed the vault with the four different keys.

Vitoria, however, was too lost in her thoughts to even care about the fact that the man had every key right on his first try.

_Father, why haven't you said something?_


	5. The Assassins

**Hey guys!**

**Finally they meet. And that's all I'm saying. Aaaaand you may have noticed the new description-thingy. Yeah, probably going to change a couple of times, I'm not really happy with it. But it'll do. For now. ^^**

**The Forgotten Reader: hahahah. You are right though, she ain't like that. And yes, I wanted them to meet too. That is so fun to write. =D**

**MrJaffaJack: Well I dunno. Maybe you have the power to slap me through my monitor? Can't be too careful enough these days... And yeah, it was/is night here too. Whoohoo, I'm off to sleep. **

**So have a good day and enjoy!**

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><p>It took her an awful lot of time to get rid of Arastoo. He insisted on bringing her to the mansion – which she held the keys to – but she didn't want him to come with her. She had told him this was something she needed to do all by herself. Even though the man didn't agree with it, he understood. So he had bowed his head respectfully and left her alone.<p>

She had been walking through the city, searching for the hill with the mansion placed on it. She was glad that Arastoo had given her some direction, so it didn't take long to find it. The large, white building caught everyone's eye as soon as it came into view. The dusty and dry (slightly) winding road ended where the mansion began. Four steps lead to some sort of platform where four pillars were supporting the Greek-built building. Vitoria imagined a cobblestone road lined with rosebushes as she slowly walked up the hill. The walls were made of limestone and marble; the roof tiles were made of terracotta.

From afar the woman could see the double doors were accented with gold. Then, for some reason, she stood still in front of the mansion. It was an old mansion, beautiful and... for some reason something was wrong. Her gut told her that. She didn't know whether it were the closed curtains or the people behind her, but she felt watched. Her father never did anything with this mansion, never visited or anything so why didn't it look like it was abandoned. Why did it look like someone was living in it?

Her answer came quicker than she had anticipated. Before she even realized what was happening, she felt two strong hands on both of her shoulders, pushing her with a tremendous amount of strength towards the ground, knocking the air out of her lungs.

"What are you doing here?" A low, deep voice hissed angrily.

Vitoria dared to peek an eye open, (she had no memory of closing them) and was greeted by two very intelligent, yet very penetrating dark golden orbs, shining in the shadow of a white cowl. The tip of the man's nose and his mouth were visible as well. She dared to look past his face and realized he was pinning her down to the ground with his really _fit_ body. Never had she seen someone that fit – even the men of the City Watch weren't this fit (and if they were, their bodies were always hiding behind armour, so she wouldn't know). Of course, the two daggers that were fastened onto his belt, was the main thing she noticed.

Her heart was hammering in her chest because of the sudden movements. She was considering her words carefully for one of the man's hands was holding a cool, sharp metal against her throat – ready to cut her artery.

"I live here," she managed to get out, praying that those were the right words to say.

They weren't. The man got angrier with her because of those words. "Lies. I hope you have said a proper goodbye to your relatives because..."

"No! Wait!" She moved the key, that had gotten all warm and sweaty in her hand due to the man's threats, holding it up so that the man could see – and hopefully react positive to – it. "I have the key of this mansion. Please."

The man stayed his blade, glaring at the key and then glaring back towards Vitoria.

"Who are you?" he demanded in a monotone voice, his lips were pressed in a firm line (Vitoria got the idea this man didn't smile a lot).

"Vitoria Terian." Her wide eyes staring directly back into his, while he studied her for a long time. Then, he rose to his feet, taking the key out of her hands.

Vitoria was about to do the same when the man grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly to her feet. She stumbled as the hooded man pulled her with him towards her supposed house. They climbed the stairs together and waited in front of the double doors.

"If this doesn't fit..."

"... you will kill me. Yes, I get it," she mumbled, hoping her words weren't too rude.

The hooded man, however, didn't give her another glance. He stuck the key in the keyhole and turned.

A satisfying _click _could be heard as the door unlocked.

Vitoria let out a relieved breath. _One more day to live. _Then she realized that they hadn't made a 'deal' – not that one could name something a deal when the other has a knife pressed onto one's throat – when the door opened. What was going to happen now?

Her eyes darted back towards the man's face. For a moment she was staring at the hooded man's strong jaw, wondering how (and why) on earth this man was as fit as he was. Then her eyes darted back towards the key which was still resting in the keyhole. The hooded man seemed to weigh his options.

Then he pushed the doors open, pulling Vitoria with him – who got a glimpse of a hallway with a couple of decorations and a lot of doors. The hooded man walked on, pushing another set of doors – who were just as beautiful as the previous ones – that revealed a large library. The floor boards squeaked under her weight.

A man who was sitting at a mahogany desk, reading a book, didn't even look up at the odd pair. He was dressed similar as the hooded man, in some kind of white uniform – or robe. He looked older, the man at the desk. He was about her father's age. The hooded man, on the other hand, was a little older than her.

"Master," the hooded man bowed his head ever so slightly to show the older man respect.

Vitoria gave him a confused look, not knowing what to do. Did she have to do it too? Who addressed a person with 'master' anyway? Servants did that kind of thing. Wait, maybe the man was a servant?

She dared to look in the way of the hooded man.

He didn't look like one. Servants didn't wear swords or blades that came out of their wrists – they didn't wear weapons. What was going on in here?

"Alvar, what is it this time?" The man closed his book and finally looked up, realizing that it wasn't just Alvar who was standing in the library. He quirked a brow, glancing over towards Vitoria and then back to Alvar.

"She has the key to our base, Master." The hooded man – Alvar – showed his Master the key he had taken from her.

_Hold on a second, did he say base? _

Even more confused than before, she stared towards the older man who didn't seem shocked or mad in the slightest bit. To be honest, he seemed relaxed.

"Her name?"

"Vitoria Terian."

Seriously though, she was standing right there with them in the same room. She could handle such questions as name, age and birthplace.

"Alright. Alvar, leave us." The man stood from his chair, walked around his desk and leaned against it while he waited until Alvar had given him the key, bowed his head and disappeared through the doors, closing them behind him.

Now Vitoria was alone with a man she did not know in her supposed house that, for some reason, was already taken by some group that looked – to her – like thieves or something akin to that. Why were they in a mansion her father left her?

She was about to say something, then changed her mind and gazed towards the floor. Again, she tried to say something, but again, she changed her mind. Finally, she looked up towards the man – who seemed to be patiently waiting until she had ordered her thoughts – and said: "Who are you?"

"My name is Adonai," he replied simply.

Vitoria pursed her lips. Her mind was a complete mess. "What are you doing in here?"

"I cannot answer that question yet."

Vitoria ran a hand through her hair, frowning. What was up with this guy? Why was he talking the way he did? In secrets? Why did she not understand? She sighed, rubbing her forehead with her hand, trying to sooth her throbbing head. She had one hell of a story to tell to Sophia when she got back. If she got back.

"I do not understand what is going on at the moment," she muttered, quite truthfully.

"I know."

Vitoria blinked. She studied the man, his dark eyes, his short hair, his intimidating appearance. The only person that connected her and the man was her father. He left her this mansion. But why did he have a mansion this big in his possession and lived in the suburbs? Why was this man in his mansion? And why did she not know this?

"You knew my father," she stated. The woman cocked her head warily. Her father didn't really have friends – besides Arastoo. He never told her about his past, his family or friends. He told her about people he knew – and most of them he despised.

Adonai nodded. "Yes. I am very sorry he died."

She crossed her arms, glaring at the man. "How did you know my father?"

"He used to live here until he moved to the suburbs."

Vitoria thought about this for a moment. So her father moved from this mansion towards the suburbs? Who did something like that?

"Why?"

The man sighed a long, heavily sigh. He wasn't annoyed by her ignorance. But she couldn't place the sigh correctly.

"I cannot tell you."

Vitoria blinked, pursing her lips together. Her eyes were still studying the man warily – she didn't fail to notice the knives attached to his belt or that he had the same odd mechanism the previous man had on his wrists.

"That man... Can you tell me why he is here?"

Adonai moistened his lips. "He is one of my pupils."

Pupils? "So, more people live here?" She couldn't decide whether this was a good thing or not.

"Yes. I can show you if you like."

Again, she gave him a wary look before nodding. He then led her up the stairs to the upper floor where only more bookcases could be found. She glanced down towards the library doors, sighing once more, before following Adonai towards an enormous window. Rays of sunlight fell through the clear glass, accenting bookcases in a warm setting. The man clasped his hands behind his back as he waited patiently until she was standing near the window. She was even more confused than before – and before that (if that was possible).

Men were fighting each other in some sort of trainings ring, or were performing push ups, others were throwing knives on training dummies, or were relaxing. Some didn't even wear a shirt. Most of them who did, were all wearing the robes. They looked similar, yet little details kept them apart. But they were all armed with the blade-wrists (for lack of a better name) and they were all very fit.

The backyard of her mansion was a trainings ground. How great.

She couldn't decide whether this was heaven or hell.

"I cannot kick you out of my house, can I?" she muttered, her eyes still remained on her backyard. There was even a guesthouse. So many people were living here, how could she kick so many people out?

"It is your house. You can do as you please." His eyes studied her expressions.

She rolled her eyes. _Darn_ _it_. She had enough money to buy another house, but she didn't want to buy another house. She didn't want to spend the money on something she already possessed. She certainly didn't want to go back to her old home. There was no way she was staying in a house where her father was murdered. And her father gave _her _this house for a reason.

"I still don't understand any of this. Why are your pupils training? For what?"

Now it was time for Adonai to take a deep breath, gazing her intently. "We call ourselves Assassins. We work in the dark, to serve the light. We believe in a Creed that consists of three tenets: Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent. Hide in plain sight, be one with the crowd. Never compromise the Brotherhood."

Vitoria tried to wipe her mind clean and make place for this information. "Alright... And for what purpose are you fighting?"

"The freedom for the individual. We fight for freedom, justice and peace."

_Freedom, of course. _Her father, too, had fought for freedom. The pieces were slowly falling into place. "So, you fight for freedom, justice and peace. And, I suppose, you are trying to achieve this with... assassinating people? Aren't you contradicting yourselves?"

"You are very observant." Adonai did not move a muscle. "Yes. We have three ironies in our Creed, if you must know. We seek to promote peace, but commit murder. We seek to open the minds of men, but require obedience to rules. We seek to reveal the danger of blind faith, yet practice it ourselves."

Vitoria pursed her lips, a bad habit when she was deep in thought. "And against whom are you fighting?"

"The Order of the Knights Templar. The Templars seek to create a perfect world, although their interpretation thereof – emphasizing purpose, order and control, over the freedom of individuals – directly contrasts the ideals of us."

Vitoria ran a hand through her hair, trying to process all this information. Her gaze had slowly fallen towards the floor, her back turned towards the window. She glanced through the room, looking at the bookcases filled with old books. She was really trying to understand any of this.

Adonai noticed her lost expression and for a moment his eyes held a warm spark before turning cold and serious again. "Your father let us stay here when we were in need of a roof and four walls. I believe you are in need of one of those as well. If you decide to stay here, we will not be in your way."

She doubted if that was possible. "You are okay with me staying here?" she asked, still warily about everything.

"I believe I am the one who has to ask that question," he said steadily. Adonai quirked a brow.

Vitoria was nodding before she even realized it. She was the owner of this mansion. The man, Adonai, the Assassin- whatever they called him in here – was right. She was the one who had to decide.

Frowning, she stared at the floor while thinking her options through when the sound of the screeching doors could be heard.

Someone took four steps into the library and a male's voice asked out loud: "Master?"

Vitoria's eyes glanced up towards Adonai who made a silent gesture that it would only take a moment. He then moved passed her, towards the guardrail so that he could look down on the library and the man.

Vitoria could picture a man bowing his head, just like the other man did, towards Adonai.

"Ah," Adonai mumbled, completely forgetting that she was standing in the same room (or maybe acting like he was forgetting her presence) and walked down the stairs. "I assume you were successful?"

Vitoria turned around to look down on the training grounds as she eavesdropped the conversation.

"I was, Master. The deed is done." The reply came. Vitoria could hear that this man – just like the previous one – was respectful towards Adonai. He was really their leader and teacher.

"Complications?"

"None. I followed the Creed. For nothing is true..."

"... everything is permitted. Good. You may leave. Close the door in your way out."

"As you wish, Master."

Vitoria blinked rapidly upon hearing the conversation. She wasn't even paying attention anymore to the footsteps and the sound of the doors closing; she was walking towards the guardrail, grabbing it tightly and trying to maintain her balance as she looked down upon Adonai. "_Nothing is true and everything is permitted._ What is it and what does it mean?" She wasn't stupid. Her father spoke those words out loud. He told her to trust _them_.

Adonai looked up and was suspicious about the sudden interest. "It is the Creed's maxim. It is our guideline. Do not believe the things you can see or hear around you – what you see is just a perspective, not the truth, and what you hear is an opinion, not a fact; nothing is true. For everything is permitted you need to understand that we do not know boundaries. To achieve freedom within the world and within the individual there are no boundaries, but we do know that our actions have consequences. That is one of the reasons we are called the Assassin Order, we kill when necessary."

Her father had talked about them; about the Assassins. He told her to trust them. He probably said this guideline out loud so that she could not make a mistake with trusting the wrong assassin. If that was even possible.

Vitoria closed her eyes for a moment, listening to her own heartbeat. "Alright. Fine. As long as I can do whatever I want to do in peace I am fine with this."


	6. Intruder

**Hey guyz!**

**Sooo... It's been a while. I'm afraid I am addicted to AC Unity. Co-op is the best (especially when both players suck). Ah damn. I need to play moooooore. But ya know, here is the chapter.**

**MrJaffaJack: That is kind of a big compliment, thank you. =D And I was actually stuck between naming it "The Assassins" or "The Meeting" lolz. So that's a thing. **

**The Forgotten Reader: Indeed! There is so much one can write in this situation, it's crazy. Although this chapter is kind of relaxing. I think. Next chapter we will have the real clash between Vitoria and the Assassins. **

**kykyxstandler: Haha thank you! And here ya go. :]**

**Have a good one and enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Wait, what?" Sophia was standing with her hands on her hips, a frown engraved on her forehead and a perplexed expression written across her face. "Are you saying that people are living in your father's house? In your house?"<p>

Vitoria – who had been running back as soon as she got the chance towards Sophia's house before her friend could take off for work – was nodding her head wildly. "Yes. And I am not even sure if I can say this to you. They call themselves Assassins. Oh dear, what if I wasn't allowed to say this to you? We would be so dead. Our bodies wouldn't even be found, that 's how dead we will be. I made a mistake. We need to leave this country, right now..."

"In the name of Zeus, calm down Vitoria!" Sophia grabbed her shoulders and shook her harshly, trying to somehow get through to the panicked Vitoria.

Vitoria pushed her friend off to make her stop. "I get it!" she growled and wrinkled her nose annoyed. "You do not even believe in the gods," she mumbled almost accusingly while smoothing her clothes.

"I know. But you do. Kind of. And it worked. Anyway, why didn't you kick those bandits out? You could have asked Arastoo to help you, he is head of the City Watch, is he not?" Sophia cocked her head a little, gazing questioningly towards Vitoria.

She shrugged. "I was planning on doing so, but then a man said something. He said: _nothing is true and everything is permitted. _That is their guideline..."

"... and your father told you to trust them, right?"

Vitoria nodded. "Right," she muttered quietly, sinking onto one of the cushions placed on the ground. Why hadn't her father said something to her?

Sophia kneeled next to her friend and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "If I were you I would go after the secrets my father wanted me to hear even though he had no chance to voice those secrets. But, I am sure, whatever decision you make is the right one." She gave Vitoria a soft smile and rose to her feet. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

Vitoria shrugged and looked up in the green eyes of her friend. "I am not sure where I will be sleeping tonight."

Sophia nodded her head in understanding. "That is fine. Just be careful with whatever you are going to do. Bye!"

Vitoria watched as her friend rushed towards the front door and closed it behind her. She was already running late due to Vitoria's story. She kind of forgot to mention the vault. The young woman sighed heavily, staring into the living room. She listened to the silence for a long time before she made up her mind.

She stood abruptly and left Sophia's house without thinking twice. She had been stuck with this in her head for over two days but was too afraid to actually do it. It was something she had to do on her own.

For the umpteenth time she walked steadily over the cobblestone streets of Athens. The sun was hiding behind clouds whereby the streets were a little dark-ish. She stepped into her old street and immediately realized it had never been this quiet as it currently was. No one was sitting in front of their houses – no one was even in the street itself.

Vitoria let her gaze fall on the familiar door whilst slowly moving forwards. She made sure no one was around before touching the door. She inhaled deeply, her heart was hammering in her chest, and then pushed it open.

There was nothing left.

She was aware about the fact that Adonai had been here and emptied the place before anyone else would. Without making a sound she gazed into the living room after leaving the small hallway and noticed that her home was actually pretty big without the furniture. Or it seemed like it – it probably wasn't.

The woman then turned around and faced the one room she didn't want to face: her father's bedroom. It was now just a room where one could hear one's breathing echoing. The only thing that made this room different from other rooms was the bloodstain in the middle of it. It was the only indication that something had happened in this house.

Vitoria hugged herself while thinking back at the day she found her father lying helplessly on the floor. She was tempted to cry, but blinked the tears away. This room was not _his_ room. The living room was not _their_ living room. Her home had become a house.

* * *

><p>Alvar was squatting while his eyes never strayed from the house the woman, Vitoria, just entered. He had been following her, hoping to find something out about her that could make her leave the base. Adonai had just told everyone at the base she was going to live with them. He even told them she was the owner of the mansion! She had the power to kick them out so 'leave her alone' and if that was not possible 'treat her well'.<p>

Alvar rolled his eyes again – something he had been doing a lot throughout his Master's speech.

"So, you are already stalking her?" Leon quipped, standing next to him with his arms crossed.

Alvar growled annoyed in reply while his eyes were still on the house.

"Tell me, Alvar, why is this change bothering you?" Leon quirked a brow, watching him with immense interest.

"Why is this not bothering you?" he retorted and finally rose to his feet to look Leon in the eyes. "Women do not belong at the base. Especially when they are not an Assassin. I do not trust her, she could easily tell the king where we are located."

Leon could only chuckle at this statement. "You have lost your mind. Women have the right to fight for freedom too. And I doubt she would do that for Adonai would never tell her about us if she was not trustworthy."

"She will never be an Assassin." Alvar had crossed his arms, eyeing his friend intently.

Leon shrugged. "Perhaps not. It surely is not the reason why she is staying at the base." The man glanced for a second at the house and then back at Alvar. "If Nicon Terian was still living among us, you would have never dared to say this out loud."

"I would not have a reason to say it."

Leon sighed heavily, making sure the annoyance could be heard in his voice as he did so. "It will not work, Alvar. Your plan to sabotage her stay in some way."

Alvar was about to snap at his friend when the door of the house swung open and Vitoria quietly looked at either sides of the street, making sure no one was around. Then she left the house and started to walk.

Both men followed as she did so.

Suddenly a man grabbed her wrist as he sank to his rear on the corner of the street. Vitoria was startled at first, until she recognized who it was.

"I believe she knows the beggar," Alvar stated as both men watched as the man was looking up, mumbling words and shaking her hand while Vitoria nodded and smiled friendly.

Leon gave his friend a sidelong glance. "I am quite sure she will never sell us out in the future. No man or woman who is friends with a beggar would do that." He gave his friend a pat on the back as he walked passed him, making his way back towards the mansion and letting Alvar think about his words.

* * *

><p>Vitoria was walking in the direction of the Great Plaza, while her mind was making her dizzy. The man who spoke to her in the street had been a man she used to greet when she went out. In the evenings he was most of the time sitting in the street she used to live in. He had known her father and wanted to personally speak to her and say some kind words about him. He was a nice man, slurred most of his words though (not due to alcohol) and people called him "Nine" for he had only nine fingers. At midday he would go to the Great Plaza and do what every beggar did – which was beg.<p>

She was too deep in her thoughts to notice that she had already made it towards the Great Plaza. From there on she knew the way towards the mansion, so that had been her plan. Until her plan got interrupted.

"... freedom is what I believe in. Freedom of conscience, freedom of belief. We want to live in peace – I do not care if a government can provide us this or a king. We, the people, wan-. Excuse me for a moment." The man who had been standing on a wooden crate stepped off it and rushed through the small crowd that had gathered to listen to his words. He slipped past a couple of passers and grabbed one of them by the shoulders, making sure she couldn't walk away.

Vitoria snapped back into the real world, looking a little startled to the blonde man before her. "Sam?" she mumbled shocked, blinking rapidly. Sam was the man who was, clearly, unhappy with the king at the moment. He was one of the few who dared to say his thoughts out loud.

"Vitoria!" the man smiled happily, giving her a quick hug. "I heard the news about your father. I am very sorry."

Vitoria smiled as friendly as she could manage, although from the inside she was a bit annoyed. Getting constantly remembered of the fact that her father had passed away wasn't exactly helping her to move on. She appreciated it though. "Thank you, Sam."

Sam smiled back. "I wish I could do more for you. Your father had always been so... truthful with me. He was one of the few men who knew how to rule a country."

Vitoria remembered the first encounter between Nicon and Sam. Her father had told him to _bugger off _at the same spot they were standing; the Great Plaza. Somehow they evolved their friendship from there on. Probably because they saw each other almost every day on the Great Plaza; when her father went to his work and when Sam – and his wooden crate – stationed himself there.

She nodded, not knowing what to reply.

"I heard you are living in that white mansion. I didn't know it was yours." _So the news about the house had been spreading fast. _

"Eh... yes. I didn't know either actually," she mumbled, knowing that she had to think before she voiced the wrong words.

Sam was giving her a reassuring smile, noticing her withdrawn behaviour. "You should throw some kind of party in that mansion. It will make things easier, you'll see."

Vitoria burst out in a laugh, thinking about how ridiculous his words were. And impossible. "No, I will never do something like that."

He shrugged. "Well, your loss." He glanced at the crowd that wasn't as patient as he had thought. "I have got to go. I will see you again."

The woman nodded. "Sure. Bye, Sam!" She watched as the blonde man made his way back towards his crate and started to talk again about equality. She quietly moved on from the plaza towards the mansion.

Vitoria was astonished by the so called "Assassins" while she walked the slightly winding road towards the white mansion with the key in hand. How on earth had they managed to stay hidden from the king for all these years? Why did no one even have a clue of their whereabouts? No doubt if the wrong person knew this kind of information they would silence this person without hesitation.

She faltered in her step, looking – may it be – a little frightened towards the mansion as if it was a person. What if she was _the wrong person_?

Then again, would Adonai offer her a place to stay in her own house – even when she had been willing to give the key to them if the situation had escalated badly? The "Master" seemed like an intelligent man. He would never do something foolish, right?

Her mind was circling around various situations that weren't exactly in her favour. She was getting a headache because of it, so she decided to just follow the advice of Sophia.

Vitoria put the key in the lock and opened the door to her house. She slipped through the opening, closing it as softly as possible. By the time she turned around, she was facing Adonai. He was standing in the doorway of the library, hands clasped behind his back and watching her intently.

"Uhm... Hi," she mumbled carefully. She stole a glance at the library where it seemed that a couple of Assassins were reading a book or talking to each other. One of them was glaring at her, his eyes burning through her skin. She quickly returned her gaze towards Adonai.

"I will show you your room now, if you don't mind."

Vitoria nodded, looking into the hallway and discovering that it was decorated with various paintings and statues placed in between the closed doors. "Sure. Lead the way."

Adonai nodded and walked towards her right, in the direction of the spiral staircase – something she had not expected. For some reason she thought he would lead her towards one of those doors at her left (she guessed it were chambers for the Assassins).

He walked up the stairs and Vitoria followed him whereupon she found herself standing at the beginning of another hallway that contained less doors. There were maybe four doors in total?

The first door on the right was her room. He opened up the door and revealed an ordinary room with a bed, a closet, a bureau, a door towards her own bathroom and a balcony (from the front of the mansion the balcony wasn't visible).

"This is one of the spare rooms. I sleep in the room across," Adonai said practically. "We are the only ones who sleep on this floor. The Assassins sleep in the rooms below or in the guesthouse. We take turns in doing laundry and preparing food, although most of the Assassins find their own food. I suggest you prepare your own food and do your own laundry. We are up early and most of the time active by night. The kitchen is the first door to your right. I believe that is all for now. If there is anything at all, you can come to me. I will be around."

Vitoria nodded quietly and turned around to face Adonai once more. "Thank you."

Adonai nodded and then turned around, leaving the room. She listened if she heard him walking down the stairs but there was no sound whatsoever.

She decided to check out the balcony so when she finally found the key towards the balcony she opened up the door and stepped onto the stone platform. The view was breathtaking; part of the city was laying beneath her. She could see the Court of Justice, the Acropolis and the mountains which surrounded Athens. From up here Athens was beautiful. You got a whole other perspective from the streets.

She sighed, leaning on the stone guardrail and thinking about this whole situation. She was aware of the fact that she was the intruder here. These... Assassins lived, trained and slept in this mansion for most of their lives. But she lived here and it was her house.

Vitoria retreated herself from the balcony, closing the door behind her, and started to inspect the room – half cleaning while she was at it. The room was dusty, it seemed that they did not get many visitors.

That wasn't surprising at all.

When she was done with her room, she must head to the market while it was still open. She had to get some things like clothes and other things. She was, after all, a woman. And a woman's got to do what a woman's got to do.


	7. Making Friends

**Hey guys!**

**Sooo, a short chapter. I honestly have no idea why, but it was super hard to write this chapter. My head wasn't working properly or something. Really annoying. Anyway, next chapter is going to get better, I promise. And the plot soon will be revealed muhaha. So don't worry, I have things planned out. Most of it. **

**Uhm, there is a possibility that updating will be a lil' bit slower. It's getting real busy around here. But I will try to write as often as I can. :]**

**kykyxstandler: muhaha, me too. I am already in love with those two lol. I can't wait for writing that. =D**

**calwitch: Yes, I agree with you. Although Alvar is a very complex human being lolz. **

**MrJaffaJack: That is a good thing. The drastically bigger room, I mean. My room is too small and it's still covered in shit I liked when I was like ten. But I don't want to change it because that consumes time I don't have. And you can count me in on the party. I like parties. **

**So here ya go. Have a good one and enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Vitoria's eyes shot open to reveal the walls of her bedchambers in the mansion. And not the wooden planks in her previous house. She threw the covers off her and sat up straight in her bed, staring blankly at the walls that were faintly accented with light. The sun was coming up. Which meant that it was still too early to get out of bed.<p>

She rubbed her eyes, yawning while doing so, and rose to her feet, pulling on her robe. She was certain that she could not go back to bed – her mind was already wide awake. So, instead, she walked over towards the balcony and opened the door.

The young woman hugged herself – a cold breeze was blowing – and watched as the sun was making the climb towards the heavens. She could watch this all day. Her stomach, however, could not.

Vitoria stepped back into her bedchamber, closing the door towards the balcony and putting the key on her bureau. Quickly, she put her hair in a bun with a ribbon she bought the previous day on the market and stepped out of her bedchambers – not really caring that she wasn't decent and on bare feet.

She walked down the stairs, entering an empty hallway and walking through the doorway of the kitchen (noticing that the doors to the library were open). She searched for the bread she had put somewhere aside and ate it when she had finally found it.

When she was done in the kitchen and she was about to head back towards her bedchamber, the curiosity got the better of her. She peeked into the library, noticing that it was completely empty. Then she dared to step into it, making weird faces as she stepped on the squeaking floorboards.

When she finally fully realized no one was in the library, she walked up the stairs towards the upper floor. Vitoria hesitated for only a moment before looking out of the gigantic window that looked down on the training grounds.

Adonai hadn't lied when he told her they started early. The Assassins were training themselves, just like they had done the day before. Not everyone, though – some were sitting against the fountain, enjoying their break. Others, however, were pushing themselves towards the limit.

Adonai was standing at the trainings ring, watching two of his pupils fight each other to the death – or near. It seemed like they were really fighting each other until their opponent wasn't able to stand anymore. Rigorous training. A little too much, maybe?

It took her a minute until she recognized one of the men in the trainings ring: it was the same man who attacked her the other day and dragged her into the library. Alvar was his name.

Vitoria watched as Alvar dodged an attack of his opponent and immediately returned one in the stomach. Alvar was about to give his opponent a blow to the head, but his opponent parried his attack and kicked him in the shin. Then the man punched Alvar in his ribs and gave him a couple of blows on his arms and head. Alvar rolled backwards to get away from the attacks and, without catching his breath, he ran towards his opponent. The running suddenly changed into sliding and Alvar slid past his opponent, grabbing the legs and making his opponent fall face first. In a blink of an eye, Alvar was on top of his opponent, his hands wrapped around the neck.

For a couple of seconds, Vitoria was scared that Alvar was actually killing his opponent, but then Adonai spoke up and both of the Assassins stopped with what they were doing.

Vitoria let out a sigh of relief while she watched the two men facing each other and bowing. She was surprised that they could still respect each other after this fight – it had seemed like they meant every blow.

"Who are we spying on?"

The sudden voice of a male startled her to death. She let out a muffled cry and turned around.

A man with a red sash worn around the waist looked at her with a quirked brow. He didn't have his hood on. He had two friendly blue eyes, short blonde hair and a stubble. He was just as fit as anyone else living here.

"I wasn't spying..." Vitoria mumbled and noticed the grin on the man's face. "I didn't know you Assassins could smile."

The man chuckled shortly. "Hmm, yes. It is very rare. Forgive me, my name is Ion Patron." He bowed his head a little to show her some respect.

"Vitoria Terian," she replied surprised. Ion was the first Assassin who was actually quite nice.

"Ah, yes. The lady of the house. It's a pleasure to meet you."

She let a smile grace her face, her eyes darting back towards the trainings ring. "Didn't Adonai tell you guys to leave me alone?"

Ion chuckled again. "He did. But the old man tells us a lot. Besides, how are you going to live here when you don't know any of us?"

Vitoria nodded in understanding. He had a point. She watched as Adonai was speaking towards Alvar, probably giving him some pointers. The man was standing straight, not giving a single groan. "He can take a lot," she mumbled more to herself.

"Alvar? Hmm, he had worse. I share my chamber with him."

Vitoria glanced back towards Ion, surprised. "You do?"

Ion noticed her expression and smiled. "He is very serious and grumpy but he's good people. The first time I met him he actually hated me. And now we're friends!"

She thought about that for a moment but her thoughts were interrupted by the movement in the trainings ring. They were done and Adonai was heading back towards the mansion.

"Yeah... I should probably get dressed," she said, already slowly backing away.

Ion nodded in agreement. "I should get going too. I'll see you around."

Vitoria smiled as she rushed past the numerous bookcases, down the stairs and out of the library. She walked up the stairs and entered her room, closing the door behind her. For just a moment, she had her back against the door, thinking about what just had happened. Then, she went into the bathroom, making herself ready. She wasn't sure why she was getting dressed but by the time she was done, she probably would know what to do with her day – she thought.

The young woman quickly washed herself in the bathtub and put on a simple dark green dress. She brushed her hair while wondering whether she went to visit Sophia or not.

Vitoria was just about to lock the door towards the balcony when a faint sound made her stop in her movements. Her eyes shifted from the balcony door towards her bedchamber door.

Did someone just knock?

She was not sure so she slowly moved over towards the other door, quietly listening if there was someone at the other side of it but there was no sound – even when she held her breath.

The woman pursed her lips, staring at the door for a moment. Then she quietly opened the door, peeking into the empty hallway. Was she getting mad? Maybe she was. Or maybe this building made the sound, for some unexplainable reason.

Vitoria shrugged it off, closed the door and was about to walk back towards the balcony door. Instead, she walked right into another human being and let out a stifled cry. Flinching, her back hitting the door, she looked up towards the man who was standing in front of her. It didn't take her long to identify this person as Alvar, the man who had been fighting in the ring the same morning.

"You startled me," she mumbled, relieved that it wasn't some thief or bandit. However, she remained wary of his presence.

"You have a visitor," he said in his monotone voice and stepped forward, narrowing the space between them and making Vitoria uncomfortable and confused. She looked up at him, her eyes scanning over his face. His lips were pressed in a firm line, his eyes looking down on her. He leaned forward and suddenly the room seemed to have not enough oxygen for the both of them.

Vitoria had to look away and then she heard the _click _of the door opening behind her. _Alvar had opened the door_.

She stumbled backwards into the hallway but Alvar didn't waste any time. He grabbed her arm and dragged her with him towards the spiral staircase. Finally, she understood what was happening: someone was at the door to see her – which wasn't odd at all; she lived here.

"This is the second time you are dragging me with you," she mumbled while she concentrated on her feet – she was trying not to stumble or fall.

"And it is probably not the last." He practically threw her towards the double doors that operated as the front door. She gave him an angry look, smoothing her dress in the process. Then she let out a sigh before opening one of the doors as if nothing had happened.

"Vitoria." The man in his armour bowed his head to show her his respect. "I am surprised you heard me knocking on the door," Arastoo said, glancing towards the mansion. Vitoria noticed the rectangular object he was holding, and wondered what it was.

_Lie, _the voice in her head said. "I was... around," she mumbled, giving herself a mental slap in the face. The worst lie she had ever voiced. Then again, she couldn't blame herself – the feeling that hundreds of eyes were watching them having this conversation made her forget how to act not suspicious.

The woman smiled convincingly. "What brings you here?"

Arastoo chuckled. "Well, I came here for a couple of things. Firstly, this is the only painting that wasn't destroyed in your house. I know your father loved this one very much, so it seemed only fitting to return it to you." He gave her the rectangular object which she, for some reason, hadn't identified sooner as a painting and she placed it carefully against the wall, next to the doors.

"Secondly, I had direct orders from the king to visit you."

Vitoria raised a brow while studying Arastoo. He wasn't joking, she was certain of that. "Why?"

"He is sorry for your loss and he wanted me to bring that message to you."

The woman felt a wave of disgust washing over her, but she hid that feeling as best as she could. The king wasn't sorry at all for her loss. Zephyr Vasco hated her father! He probably couldn't be more overjoyed when the news had reached his ears.

She suppressed the urge to slam the door shut right in Arastoo's face and gave him a piercing look. "Was there something else?"

The head of the City Watch nodded his head. "I just wanted to tell you that your father is buried next to your mother, just like he wanted. That is all."

Vitoria nodded her head. "Alright. Thank you, Arastoo."

Arastoo bowed his head in reply. "Take care of yourself, Vitoria," he added before Vitoria closed the door and grabbed the painting. She realized only now that Alvar had been watching her the entire time. He was standing with crossed arms, leaning against the wall next to the kitchen door.

She glanced over to him, watching him for only a moment, then she quietly walked past him towards the stairs. And then into her bedchamber with the painting, closing the door behind her.

Vitoria carefully placed the painting on her bed, pulling off the protecting cloth Arastoo had wrapped it in. _The two he most loved_, the painting with her, her mother and the tree with soft pink leaves. She was amazed it had survived.

Her eyes darted towards her wall and then back at the painting. She had to hang the painting on her wall and she had to visit the graveyard. However, she didn't feel like doing these things today.


	8. A Shiny Red Apple

**Yoooo guyz!**

**Back again with a quickie. Still busy and all. **

**MrJaffaJack: Hahaha, well it certainly is odd she hadn't. But that's because she doesn't have control over that situation. It is all taken care of etc. It happens so fast, she isn't really thinking straight when it comes to burying her father y'know. =]**

**The Forgotten Reader: Sorry... And yaaas. And- now I updated again. Damn. **

**calwitch: Because Alvar hates everyone hahaha. No, but he grew up in that mansion, he's not really used to changes like that lolz. butidontwanttogivetoomuchaway.**

**kykyxstandler: Yes. Ion is the best. =D**

**So with that said, have a good one and enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Vitoria couldn't sleep the night after Arastoo had visited her, so instead she dressed herself in a simple dress, grabbed her cloak after breakfast and went outside – the backyard, that was. It was her home and she wanted to explore it some more before she visited Sophia.<p>

She walked quietly past the training grounds. None of the Assassins were training – it was too early for their physical training. Some of them were presumably already up.

The huge backyard was sheltered by trees from the city and, most importantly, people. No one knew what was happening in here and that was what the Assassins liked about the place.

Vitoria walked past a well with clean water in it – that was where the water came from. Most of the water was already stacked in barrels in the spare room in the kitchen though.

The smell of horses tickled her nose and her eyes darted towards another building that had to be the stables. She was surprised for no reason – it was only logical that the Assassins had horses, some of them operated in other cities.

The woman opened the wooden door of the square-like building and was amazed when she stepped into the stables. There were a lot of stalls, some were empty. In the middle of the building there was a room that contained saddles and food for the horses. Some horses had a name (the names were carved into a piece of wood and hanged on the doors of the stalls), some didn't. Vitoria was amazed by the animals and walked past every stall, looking at the horse, reading the names.

The last horse was the most beautiful horse she had ever seen (she hadn't seen many horses in her life but still). It was a white stallion with dark eyes. The stall next to the stallion was empty.

Vitoria leaned on the stallion's stall door and waited patiently until the horse walked towards her and pressed his nose against her arm. She smiled and carefully stroked his neck.

"You are one of the oldest horses here, aren't you," she mumbled and took a step back to look for a name.

_Brion, _was carved with difficulty in the piece of wood. She frowned when her eyes followed the scratches in the wood.

X

_"__What are you doing?" A voice asked from out of nowhere._

_The little girl looked up. "I am carving his name in this piece of wood." The girl was about to grab the knife again to continue her work when the man rushed over and grabbed the girl's hand. _

_"__Careful now, you will hurt yourself."_

_The girl glanced back towards the man with a sad expression. "But papá, he needs a name." _

_The man sighed with a smile and lifted the little girl in his arms. "I will proceed this mission. How do you wish to name him?" _

_The little girl laughed. "Brion is his name."_

_"__Brion. A strong name for a strong horse. A fine choice. Would you like to see him?" _

_The girl nodded her head elated. "Yes!" _

_The man holding the little girl entered the building and stopped at the last stall. Carefully he placed her on the stall door – still holding her tightly._

_A white mare lovingly pressed her nose against the little girl's leg, which made the girl giggle. Then the mare stepped aside, showing them a shaking, little foal hiding behind his mother. _

_"__It is going to be alright, Brion," the little girl mumbled after she noticed the fear in the foal's eyes. _

_"__Certainly. We will take good care of you." _

X

Vitoria blinked a couple of times, trying to figure out what she just had witnessed and how. She had stopped stroking Brion and he was now bumping his nose every now and then against her arm, trying to get her attention.

She glanced back towards the stallion, slowly stroking his nose again. The man had looked like her father in a way (just younger), but that was impossible. That would mean she and her father (and maybe even her mother) had been here in this stable. And she surely wouldn't forget something like that, right?

"Are you crazy?!" A voice echoed through the stables and Vitoria looked sideways towards the spot where the voice was coming from. It was Ion.

"Excuse me?" she muttered, finally noticing that the sun was already making the daily climb towards the heavens.

Ion had a incredulous expression written across his face. "That horse is pure evil. You do not come near that horse or even touch it. Brion hates everyone around him, except for Adonai. He is the only one who can ride this animal."

Vitoria glanced back at Brion who didn't seem to mind her company at all. "He doesn't seem to hate me." She gave Ion a questioning look. "What are you doing here?"

Ion sighed. "It is my turn to muck out the stalls, unfortunately."

"As much as I would love to help you with your chores, I have to go."

He chuckled lightly. "Ah, leaving at the right moment, are we. I would do the same."

She stepped back and quirked a brow at him. "Well, in matter of fact, I do have to go somewhere."

He raised his hands innocently. "I believe you. I see you around then."

Vitoria said her goodbye and then exited the stables, walking over the landscaped path back towards the mansion. This time, when she passed the training grounds, there were Assassins training. Some of them gave her a look, others didn't seem to notice she was there. No one disturbed her and she didn't disturb them, so that was fine.

She hurried through the mansion towards the front doors, locking them behind her (even though that wasn't necessary). Then, she made her way towards the Great Plaza and from there on towards Sophia's house. She promised Sophia to visit her again rather sooner than later. She had to tell her friend a couple of things she forgot to mention the last time she saw her.

Vitoria made her way through the crowded streets of Athens and, at last, knocked on the front door when she was finally standing in front of her friend's house.

It took Sophia a couple of seconds to open the door. Her stunning smile immediately graced her face when her eyes fell on her friend.

"Finally, you decided to visit me." Sophia pulled her friend inside and closed the door.

"Where are your mother and brother?" Vitoria asked first. It seemed that they were never around when Sophia was home...

"Out," Sophia said with a humming tone as if it didn't bother her. Vitoria watched her keenly while taking off her cloak. The two women sat down on the cushions after Sophia gave her friend something to drink.

Sophia was watching her friend, her eyes gained a mischievously spark while she waited until Vitoria decided to speak.

"What?" Vitoria had noticed her expression and quirked a brow. Sophia shrugged.

"Oh, nothing. You are just living with a lot of _men_ in your mansion, I was just wondering what you've been up to." Her eyes narrowed as a playful smile spread across her face.

Vitoria rolled her eyes. "_Please_, Sophia. I am not like that."

Sophia chuckled. "I know that. So, what did you want to tell me?"

"Well, I forgot to tell you that my father left me a lot of money. And that I am not particularly loved in my own home." Vitoria took a sip from her cup and watched her friend intently.

At first, Sophia seemed to think about it and then she smiled. "So, Nicon had a secret pile of money somewhere."

"Yes, but I do not understand why we lived like we were poor when we were actually rich." Vitoria looked down at the water in her cup and moved it around.

Sophia pondered about her friend's words and chose hers carefully. "I am sure your father had a good reason for that. Hadn't he always?"

Vitoria stayed with Sophia until she had to leave for work. When the young woman was steadily walking over the cobblestone streets, her cloak billowing behind her, she got the chance to think about the thing she had seen in the morning. What if it hadn't been just some vision? What if it had been a memory? In her head, it sounded absolutely ridiculous. Moreover, she had no memory of that piece of wood, Brion or the stable. Maybe she should ask Adonai about it when she was back. She hadn't told Sophia about it – she wouldn't tell her until she first figured it out herself.

While she was on the route towards the Great Plaza, her ears caught the sound of voices. It were all male voices. When her eyes finally found the source of the voices, she saw three men of the City Watch standing over a young boy, kicking him, harassing him, cursing at him. The young boy was on the verge of tears, hunched, trying to cover his head from the three men.

Vitoria glanced around the street where people were walking by, not daring to even glance in the direction. No one seemed to even care about this boy. If Sam had been here, he would probably have stabbed one of the men's eye out. But Sam wasn't here and she wasn't him. So she just tried to solve it with words.

"Excuse me but what on earth do you think you're doing?" She stepped in, standing in front of the three men and blocking the way towards the young boy. This caused the men to take a step back, giving her some space – their glances told her they weren't happy with her interfering.

"We are punishing a thief, missy. Step away now or you'll hurt yourself," the one on the right said sternly. Vitoria just raised an eyebrow in response.

"A thief?" she questioned as if the word was not familiar to her. "You are abusing a young boy! Tell me now, do you have any proof of this?"

The man on the left replied this time: "I saw him grabbing that apple with my own eyes."

Her eyes were still showing something akin to scepticism while stepping away and giving a questioning look towards the boy that had been listening to the conversation with great interest. "Well? Is this true?"

The boy looked from Vitoria towards the three men and then back at Vitoria again. He slowly shook his head.

"You filthy little liar," the man on the left said and tried to grab the boy by the throat, but the man in the middle stopped him and mumbled bitterly:

"Let it go. Come on." He pulled the two men with him as he walked away from Vitoria – the three of them giving her an angry look.

Vitoria watched them go and vanish in the crowds. When she at last turned around to face the young boy, she faced nothing more than an empty spot. In the young boy's place a shiny red apple had appeared.

* * *

><p>"Look who decided to show up."<p>

Alvar was squatting down, his hood covering his eyes. He gave Ion a quasi-surprised look as the man lifted himself on the same roof.

"Oh ha-ha, Alvar," he retorted slightly annoyed and sat down next to his friend.

"I still do not know why you challenged me." Alvar glanced sideways at Ion. It had started out as a game for the two when they were young. They would run up and down roofs, training themselves in the process, and the one who finished first at the Great Plaza, won. The first time they challenged each other, none of them actually made it to Great Plaza.

"I felt like beating you today, that is why." Ion gave his friend a challenging look while Alvar's eyes twinkled in amusement.

"You did a poor job then."

Alvar rose to his feet and offered his friend a hand to help him stand – which Ion took – and the both of them started to walk back towards the mansion, jumping from roof to roof. It was Ion who noticed Vitoria walking among the citizens on the ground. He said this to Alvar, who snorted in response.

"She is actually quite nice. Even Brion likes her."

Alvar gave his friend the dumbest look he could give. "Are you talking about the Mentor's horse?"

"I am."

Alvar just shook his head. His eyes however looked down on Vitoria, the streets, the people.

Ion, however, was looking at his friend. "I know you hate everyone at the beginning, that is in your nature," Ion ignored the cold look he got from Alvar, "but you should give her a chance. I mean, we gave the sister of Dryas, Elene, a chance and she is a prostitute. Not that that has anything to do with anything..."

"Ion."

"What?"

Alvar darted his eyes towards his friend and then back at the crowds. "She's being followed. Damn it. Not nearly a week has passed and she is already endangering our identity." He shook his head in annoyance while jumping down from the roof, leaving a frowning Ion standing on it.

* * *

><p>Vitoria had just left the Great Plaza when she suddenly felt a strong hand grabbing her upper arm and dragging her into the nearest ally. Everything happened so fast that when she was pressed against a wall, behind a pile of crates, her body started working again. Her eyes fell on a familiar hooded face whose lips were pressed in a firm line.<p>

Alvar.

"The third time," Vitoria reminded him. It was the third time he dragged her with him.

"Why are there men following you?" he asked, well, demanded.

Vitoria was utterly surprised at his words. "What? Men are following me?!" Before she could say anything else, Alvar pulled both of them to the ground. They hid behind the crates.

Vitoria turned to Alvar and hissed albeit a little panicked: "And you think hiding in the nearest ally is not the most cliché spot one could pick?"

"Do you know these men?" he just retorted, ignoring her questions.

The woman studied him for a moment, then turned around and peeked around the crates. It took her a little while before she finally found (and recognized) the men who were following her. "They just abused a boy on the streets."

"And you stepped in?"

Vitoria turned back towards Alvar and nodded her head.

Alvar thought for a moment, his eyes studying her for a long time. Then, he glanced at the beginning of the alley, noticing that the three men of the City Watch weren't as stupid as he had thought. They were coming.

"I will distract them. You run towards the mansion."

Vitoria was about to ask something about the plan (the plan didn't really sound like a well-made plan) but she didn't get a chance for it. Alvar had already vanished behind her. He had already set his plan in motion. So she stuck with the crappy plan and ran out of the alley, towards the mansion.

Alvar had killed two of them with his hidden blades without being detected by anyone. Ion took care of the last one with a clean air assassination.

The Assassin crossed his arms while he watched Alvar. He had raised an eyebrow, looking expectant.

Alvar just said: "This is me giving her a chance."


	9. Coincidences

**Hey guys!**

**So I have been busy like hell. You wouldn't believe me. I still am. School always decides to throw every single, possible assignment of anything at everyone's face when a break is near. Fucking hate it when they do that. But, here is another chapter. =]**

**MrJaffaJack: Hahahaha, yeah he is! xd Hating everyone at the beginning lolz. He's not really a people-person. **

**calwitch: Damn right. Alvar needs to be happy she isn't kicking him out.**

**kykyxstandler: In a way yes. Kind of grumpy too but yeaaaah. **

**Daphne101: Yeah it is. I only saw the movies, though, but yeah it does remind me of it too. =]**

**With that said, have a good one and enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Alvar was lying on the bed that was placed against the wall. He was staring at nothing in particular. The bedchamber he shared with Ion was located in the mansion itself. The day had been warm and he had trained himself. The main thing he had trained himself in was self-defence without any weapons.<p>

Then there was a clatter, a grunt and a chuckle. It had been Ion who had fallen off his chair while Dryas chuckled.

"Dammit Dryas! I was trying to read this book!" Ion mumbled while he sat down on the chair again. He put down the book he was holding and gave Dryas an annoyed glance.

"You shouldn't be sitting like that when I am around," was Dryas' poor defence for his actions.

Alvar sighed deeply to let them know he had been disturbed by their childish behaviour but both of them ignored him completely.

"Whatever," Ion said. "I am just glad I do not have to share my chamber with you. Where is Leon anyway?"

"He went to see Adonai," Alvar said surly. He sat up straight on the bed, his feet touching the floor while his eyes glanced towards the two men who had disturbed his thoughts. "Can you take this somewhere else?"

Ion rolled his eyes and chuckled: "You are as easily annoyed as he is angered."

It was then that Leon entered the room with a smirk when he saw the annoyed glances. "I see my absence really had an impact on you. Do not fret for I have returned."

"Right," Ion mumbled dumbly while Dryas just quirked a brow.

Alvar ignored them and asked: "What did Adonai want from you?"

Leon shrugged while he walked towards the bureau Ion was sitting at and grabbed an apple from the bowl. "Nothing special. He did request your presence."

"Did he say why?"

Leon shook his head while biting in his apple.

Alvar nodded and without further chatting he walked out of his room and towards the library. He didn't have any rest in there anyway.

He walked around the corner, passing a couple of closed doors and windows. He saw Vitoria coming down the stairs and his hand was already touching his hood but he didn't pull it over his head. She was living here now – it didn't really matter if she knew how he looked like or not.

They both walked down the hallway in silence. She however walked towards the front door while Alvar was already touching the doors that lead him into the library. He was about to open them.

"Alvar?"

He faltered.

"I just wanted to say thank you for what you did the other day."

Her words were spoken with honesty, he could hear it in her voice. In the corner of his eye he could see her standing there, grabbing the handle of the door tightly – her knuckles were turning white. It were the details he saw. He nodded, showing her that he had heard her words. It didn't take long for her to accept this as an answer and leave the mansion, locking the door behind her. She was still locking the door to make people believe she was living in this mansion all by herself.

Alvar opened the doors towards the library. The familiar creaking-noises sounded as he entered the room. He found his Master sitting at his desk.

"You called for me, Master?" Alvar said after he had bowed his head.

Adonai was looking at some sort of letter, reading the words with great interest... and trouble. The Master seemed troubled.

"I did," he replied and looked up. His eyes studying him before continuing. "I need you to do something for me."

He perked up at this even though he hid it under his wall of seriousness. "Name it and it will be done, Master."

Adonai rose from his chair and strolled over towards his pupil. "Tomorrow there will be a party, here, in Athens. Filipe Barbas will attend this party. I need you to eavesdrop on him. That is all you have to know for now. I will explain to you the details after you have returned."

Alvar gave his Mentor a nod. Finally he got a task he had to do. It had almost been unbearable to watch the amount of Assassins leaving the mansion for a task. Then again, most of them didn't even operate in Athens.

"It will be done, Master."

* * *

><p>Her hands were placed on her arms, she was hugging herself tightly while she looked down on the grave of her father. Due to sickness and famine, most of the people who died got thrown into the same grave instead of digging a grave for every soul that had been living. Vitoria couldn't she was okay with this, but there wasn't another option. Her father did get his own grave because he had been 'important'. Arastoo even made a wooden cross and put it in front of his grave. Nicon and Arastoo had to be great friends if he did all this for her father.<p>

"Are you okay, Vitoria?" Sophia, who had been giving her friend some space, was now standing next to her, an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Yes. I am fine." Vitoria gave her a friend a reassuring smile and then gazed back towards her father's grave. "I just really miss him."

Sophia sighed and put her head on her friend's shoulder. "Well, that makes two of us."

They stood there for a little while longer until they both agreed to walk back towards the Great Plaza. Sophia had to work and Vitoria wanted to get back to her house. It was late in the afternoon, the sun wasn't shining as bright as it had done a couple hours ago, birds were retreating to their homes – wherever that was. The streets were quiet.

It was Sophia who broke the silence. They were almost at the Great Plaza.

"So... I was invited to this party and I am allowed to bring someone with me. The party is tomorrow in a really, _fancy_ mansion. It looks almost like a castle – almost like _your_ mansion. Anyway, I want to bring you. To keep your mind off certain things." Sophia smiled at Vitoria as she spoke.

"Hmm," Vitoria mused, "I don't know..."

Sophia rolled her eyes. "You will go with me to that party. I will pick you up. Wear one of those new dresses of yours, they look really pretty on you. Alright?" They had arrived at the Great Plaza and they were standing still because it was here that their roads parted.

Vitoria sighed. "Alright. Fine. I will go with you to that party, okay? Happy?"

Sophia looked satisfied. "Very. Well, I have got to go. See you tomorrow."

Vitoria rolled her eyes at Sophia's back. "Bye." She watched as her friend made her way through the crowd and then she made her way towards the mansion. The day wasn't over yet. She had one more thing to do before she retreated herself in her bedchamber.

Vitoria quietly took her key out and opened the front door towards her house. She was pleased to see that the doors of the library were standing open, which indicated that Adonai wasn't busy. That was good. She had to speak to him.

"Hello, Vitoria. How can I help you?" Adonai said calmly when he heard her entering the library. He had looked up from his desk and waited patiently for her to speak up.

"I need to ask you a question."

Adonai narrowed his eyes. "What about?"

"My father."

The man gave her a nod and gestured towards the doors – which she closed as soon as she realized what he wanted. The library was quiet; when she closed the doors it sounded akin to a thunderclap. She walked back towards the spot she had been standing before she had to close the doors and looked at Adonai, who was waiting until she asked the question.

"Did my father live here?"

Adonai didn't flinch upon hearing her question – not that she expected him to. His face didn't show anything that could answer her question. He was calm. That was all she got from him.

"Before I answer that question I want to know what made you think he lived here?" He retorted. He was careful in every action he made and every word he voiced, Vitoria knew that much. It was probably in the nature of every Assassin – to be careful. She could respect that.

"I eh..." She thought about her words and the odd vision she had seen in the stables. Maybe it hadn't been the thing she thought she had seen. Maybe it had been just something else entirely, something stupid – something that didn't have anything to do with the real world or with her father. But if there was a chance that it wasn't something stupid she had to ask it. "This may sound silly but when I entered the stables and saw, I believe, it was your horse I got a... I don't know. I saw something."

Adonai blinked. "You saw something that involved Nicon living in this mansion?"

Vitoria nodded slowly. "Something like that. Like I said, I don't know. I believe I saw Brion as a foal." She was glad that Adonai didn't look at her like she was insane.

Adonai sighed calmly and stood up from his seat, his hands clasped behind his back. He walked towards the nearest bookcase and read the titles of the books. He was taking his time – he was probably thinking of a reply to something like that, weighing his words.

It took him a couple of minutes before he finally turned around and faced her again, his face still unreadable. "To answer your question, Nicon did live here. You did too. I believe you were the one who gave Brion his name."

Yes. She had given Brion his name. She was now fully convinced that she had been the little girl. It hadn't been an odd vision – it had been a flashback, a memory. Vitoria frowned. "I don't understand. Why did my father leave this place then?"

Adonai crossed his arms and walked in front of his desk to lean against it. "Your father had been an Assassin. After he had been a Master Assassin he became a Mentor. Just like me. We walked the same path until he met your mother and she gave birth to you. For a couple of years they lived here, he being a Mentor and a father. Then he decided to quit – to step out of his life as an Assassin – and he moved towards the suburbs of Athens with your mother and you."

Vitoria blinked. It had been obvious that he could have been an Assassin too. It never did cross her mind, though. Her father had never looked like one of those Assassins – like Alvar, for instance. He never struck her as the type who murdered people. He may had the same ideals as the Assassins, but he never could have walked on rooftops – something she had noticed the Assassins liked to do.

"That is... absurd. My father would never..." Vitoria was bewildered, but she had to focus. She was certain of it that Adonai was speaking the truth and she had more questions to answer. "Is it possible to just step out of the Assassin Order?"

Adonai studied her, as if this question wasn't the one he had expected. "Not like that. But Nicon's case was different. He had dedicated his whole life towards the Order, he had fought the Templars for years – and successfully. I had nothing to make him stay, so I had no other choice than to let him go."

Vitoria nodded slowly, progressing this. She now completely knew why her father told her to trust the Assassins. He had been one of them. He dedicated his whole life to them and he was sure of it that they would return a favour – keeping her safe. "This is why you let me live here and told me about the Order?"

"Your father told me that he would give this mansion to me, someday."

"He never did, though," Vitoria stated.

Adonai shook his head. "He never did." His eyes studied her again, as if he tried to read a book. "Your father was a wise man."

Vitoria cocked her head a little. "How so?"

"Because he knew. He changed his will a day before his death. Death never took him by surprise; he was ready to go."


	10. The Party

**Hey guyzzz!**

**Guess who's back... back again. Lawl. It's been a while. My busy days are finally over and Christmas break is coming up. YEAH. **

**Anyway, you guys have no idea how difficult it was to write this chapter. I don't even know why, but I had a lot of trouble. My mind was dead. But here it is. **

**MrJaffaJack: Well, he isn't. Or maybe I am lying and he actually is. You cannot trust me and my words lol. **

**calwitch: Yeah he will. Kind of. In his uncivil way I guess. xd**

**The Forgotten Reader: True dat. He looks like both of them. Although he is not ****_that_****arrogant as Altaïr and not ****_that_****ignorant as Connor. He is like this lil' mix between them. Cuties. **

**Kykyxstandler: I can't wait to write it. D **

**CodeSixty: Hahahah, well time flies when you're having fun... damn I sound like my mom. Anyway, thank you for liking it. =]**

**Have a good one and enjoy!**

* * *

><p>It had been a normal day. Vitoria waking up, walking down the stairs to get some breakfast from the kitchen and then getting dressed. When the library was empty – Adonai was training one of his pupils – she slipped inside and started to read. She had nothing better to do so she read about the Creed – about a man, to be precise. His name had been Altaïr and he had been very important to the Creed. He had been a Master Assassin – which was one of the highest ranks out there in the Creed – and then got demoted because he broke the three tenets. It was an interesting story and Vitoria would have read more of it if it wasn't for the disturbance: a faint knocking sound on the front door.<p>

Vitoria closed the book and placed it back on one of the bookcases. Then she walked towards the front doors, opening them. It wasn't a surprise that Sophia was standing at the other side of the doors.

"H-", Vitoria got pushed away in mid-sentence, stumbling backwards as Sophia marched in to look at the interior of the mansion.

"This is beautiful. I knew your father had a good taste for these kind of things. Oh! And you even have a library!" Sophia exclaimed and was about to march into the library but Vitoria blocked the way, smiling sweetly.

"I am so glad you came. I need to pick out my dress and eat before we can go, so..." She grabbed her friend by the shoulders and slowly pushed her towards the kitchen. "I will show you the house another time, I promise, but now I'm hungry. Aren't you hungry?" She pushed Sophia into the kitchen and quickly glanced around to see if anyone witnessed it.

No one was there, which was a good thing. Vitoria quickly joined her friend and made some food.

With Sophia by her side it didn't take long to pick out the perfect dress. The winner was a dark red dress which Vitoria had bought on the market.

Soon after they found Vitoria the perfect dress they left the mansion, both weren't aware of the hooded figure that was running across the rooftops to attend the same party as the two women.

* * *

><p>"Who is hosting this party exactly?" Vitoria asked, while she looked around the massive backyard. There were tons of people – most of them possessed a lot of money – walking around, talking, laughing and drinking. Servants were quietly walking around, offering people food and drinks. Guards were standing at every corner, Vitoria wasn't quite sure why. The mansion, which could easily be mistaken for a palace, was really beautiful. The inside was spacious. On the ground floor there were no doors – only arches. Except for the door that lead to some kind of ballroom. Upon entry, there were two things that caught one's eye immediately. The first thing was the chandelier that hung from the ceiling. The chandelier alone was worth more than the staff's income combined. Vitoria and Sophia agreed on that.<p>

The second thing were the stairs. The rail was made of ornate mahogany and the stairs itself gave access to the first and second floor. The red carpet was the main thing that caught one's eye – it gave every room the same luxurious feeling. It felt like they were invited to a party thrown by the king himself.

"You'll see," Sophia mumbled mysteriously. She gave her friend a playful look and then walked down the stairs, into the backyard where the other invitees were still laughing and talking. The women were wearing the most insane dresses and hats Vitoria had ever seen, the men were trying not to peek at the prettier women than the one they came with, both parties were drinking.

Vitoria sighed and walked after her friend, catching up to her. Together they strolled on through the backyard.

A little further, standing on the rooftop of the mansion, an Assassin had just knocked out the last guard that had stood in his way.

Alvar looked down on the guests, eyes narrowing and mind focusing. He saw mouths moving, hands touching, feet strolling and hair blowing; he heard words rolling, laughter, high pitched voices and low pitched voices. Nothing went unnoticed. It didn't take him long to distinguish the innocent men and women from the guards; the guards got a red-ish glow around them, which made them stood out.

The man Alvar was looking for wasn't in the backyard.

He stepped back, looking down on the mansion and focused again. Red blurred markings appeared in front of his eyes – he was looking through walls to find his target.

Filipe Barbas was located in one of the study rooms in the mansion. His blurred glow was coloured a gold-ish yellow, making him easy to spot.

Alvar ran to the other end of the rooftop without making a single sound and lowered himself down. He was in luck – which was a rare thing – a window was open. This made it easier to eavesdrop Filipe Barbas without getting detected.

He grabbed the ledge of the window and peeked through. The study was just as any other study. It contained a bookcase, a desk with papers, three chairs, candles and paintings. The red carpet covered almost every room in the mansion, the study included. Two people were inside. One was sitting behind the desk, the other was standing with crossed arms at the closed doors. Filipe Barbas was the one standing at the doors. Alvar guessed the other man was the host of the party.

"... getting busy."

It took some time for the host to get interested. He had been writing something and did not reply until he was done. When he finally was, Filipe had looked at three paintings as if he understood the meaning behind them. Alvar doubted the man he was eavesdropping on had any knowledge of paintings – or painters in general.

The man behind the desk sighed and looked up. "What is it that you want from me this time, Filipe?"

Filipe turned towards the host. "I am in need of some money."

"Isn't everyone?" the man replied simply. He quirked his brow – something Alvar could not see from his point of view.

Filipe growled – he was already annoyed with the fact that he had to ask for something to _him_. "I will not beg for it. I can only say that I will not be the only one who will benefit from this."

The man rose from his desk and slowly walked around it, looking down at the papers that were neatly placed on it. "How much I'd like to see you begging, it will not happen for I have no time for you. I have to speak to my guests. If you'll excuse me..." The man was about to walk past Filipe to get out of the study when Filipe grabbed his arm – something he should not have done.

The host grabbed and twisted his arm. He turned him around so that his back was facing him and pushed him with a lot of strength against his desk. Some papers floated slowly down onto the ground. "Don't be stupid now, Filipe," he hissed.

"I have news... from him," Filipe squirmed and the man who had almost broke Filipe's arm stopped his actions. He was gazing down at the side of Filipe's head, studying him.

"Tell me."

Filipe swallowed with difficulty. "It's about the door. We came to the conclusion that it does not have a keyhole. It's impossible to open it."

"Is that his opinion or yours?" The host spat annoyed.

Filipe didn't respond to this, which gave the man a clear answer.

The host let Filipe go, turned his back on him to think about his words. "There must be a way to open it. Lives are depending on it. When I get the chance I will look at it myself. A door can always be unlocked otherwise it's not a door. Now, enjoy the party or get out. I have to speak to my guests."

Filipe, who had recovered from the attack, was watching the back of the host with keen as the man was walking towards the door. "And the money?"

Guards made way for the man as he opened the door. "There is no imaginable scenario that I will be giving you money, Filipe." And with that, the man was walking downstairs while Filipe hit the desk with his fist to show his disapproval.

Alvar climbed up and watched from the rooftop how the guests were packed together, their backs turned towards the fountain and their eyes gazing towards the mansion. Most of them were holding a glass. They were waiting until the man of the hour finally decided to speak to them.

The guests started to clap when the host walked through the opened doors of his mansion. Alvar's eyes darted towards something else when the host spoke. Two women hurried to the crowd. The one on the left he recognized. It took him a couple of blinks to accept that his eyes weren't deceiving him.

* * *

><p>"Why is everyone standing there? And, more importantly, why aren't <em>we<em> standing there as well?" Vitoria asked to Sophia as the two women were rushing themselves to the crowd. They hadn't paid too much attention to their surroundings and suddenly they had been the only ones left in the backyard.

"The host of the party is speaking to his guests," Sophia answered.

"The host?" Vitoria mumbled quizzically as if the word itself was unfamiliar to her. "Who is hosting this party, anyway?"

Sophia grinned at her suspiciously but did not answer. She just pulled her friend with her as a low pitched voice could be heard. His voice was welcoming, warm, friendly... The host seemed to know how to give these kind of parties... The voice seemed familiar to Vitoria.

The two women finally made it to the crowd. Sophia stood on her toes to look at the man of the hour while Vitoria glanced between heads and hats towards the same man. He was still talking.

The man had raven black hair, which was thick and lustrous. He had strong arms and bold thighs. This was everything Vitoria could see from the spot she was standing – she didn't need more. She knew this man as soon as she laid eyes on him. And she could picture his face at any moment: strong arched eyebrows, thick lashes, a bone structure that was perfectly symmetrical, thin pale lips... But his eyes were the ones that had made her fall in love with him. They were a deep ocean blue, speckles of silvery light danced in his eyes. Evando Kellis was his name.

The last thing Vitoria wanted was to see Evando ever again.

"Did you bring me here for him?!" Vitoria hissed as she pulled on her friend's arm, making her stumble but not fall.

Sophia was confused. "Yes. I thought you would like that, you two were such a great couple..."

Vitoria shook her head wildly. "No, no, no, no, no... In the past. Maybe. But no. We need to go..."

"Vitoria!" Sophia grabbed her friend and the two women stepped away from the crowd. "What's the matter with you? What happened between you and Evando?"

Vitoria stared at Evando who was making his guests laugh with a silly joke and returned her gaze at Sophia. "Well. He proposed to me. I told him no and left. For good."

Sophia blinked a couple of times to let this sink in. "So you told him that you didn't want to get married and left without ever seeing him again?" Her eyes were wide and she seemed alerted.

Vitoria nodded. "Yes. Do you not know how awkward it is to see him?" She wanted to gaze at Evando again but he wasn't standing in front of the mansion anymore. His speech was over and the guests were slowly returning to the spots they had been standing before Evando came to talk to them.

"Oh dear. That is bad. See, if you told me these kind of things I wouldn't put you in these positions. Anyway, come on. We are going. Right now." Sophia grabbed her friend's wrist and pulled her along while they made their way past the guests.

The guards that were guarding the gates and the gates came into view and Vitoria was certain that they would make it out until a man, out of nowhere, stood before them. They almost bumped into him.

"Leaving already?"

Vitoria's heart sank upon hearing his voice. _Dammit_. She gave Sophia a helpless glance before gazing at the man she hadn't seen in years. "Evando... Hi..." He hadn't aged. He had just become more manly.

Vitoria felt like throwing up.

"No, we weren't leaving." Sophia glanced from Evando to Vitoria and back. "Anyway, I should probably get back to the party..." She stepped back.

_No, Sophia, don't do this to me!_

Evando grinned. "Probably."

"Nice seeing you again, Evando." Sophia said and gave her friend an encouraging look before disappearing behind the guests.

Vitoria watched her friend, hating her for not saving her out of this situation. Then again, Sophia had always been on Evando's side in the past. She still was. Sophia was probably hoping for Evando and Vitoria to get back together. Something that wouldn't happen.

"I heard your father passed away. I am truly sorry, Vitoria." His voice was very warm, very seductive. If she didn't know him the way she did, she would have fall for him again.

She managed to smile at him. "Thank you."

His blue eyes studied her for a long time. "Do you mind?.." He offered his arm and even though every vein in Vitoria protested against it, she took it. She took his arm because she felt she owed it to him.

They walked towards his mansion, passing guards and through the doors. He was showing his house to her. She couldn't care less about his mansion; she knew the real reason why he was doing this. They were alone in a lot of rooms. He wanted to talk. And she owed him a talk. _Dammit_.

"I heard you went to Italy," Vitoria mumbled while she looked at one of his paintings. They were standing in one of the living rooms. It was just as luxurious, just as expensive as the mansion itself. "I suppose that went well."

Evando grinned. "Yes. I did some business there, earned some money. I came back, did some business here and bought this mansion."

"You make it sound easy." She glanced at him and noticed the expression on his face.

"It wasn't." His curt reply made her wonder what happened in Italy, but she decided to shut her mouth. A silence fell as they continued on.

"So, are you currently seeing someone?" Evando asked as they were standing on a white balcony, overlooking the backyard.

Vitoria had been stargazing, her hands resting on the guardrail. It was a beautiful night. "No." She looked at him. "You?"

He shook his head. "It is hard to move on when my previous lover leaves me standing without explanation." Evando turned to her and noticed her pained expression.

"Yeah, I deserved that," she mumbled and sighed.

"So why did you leave?"

Vitoria thought about his words and considered hers. "I did not love you anymore." She regretted saying that as soon as she said it. It was a lie, and Evando knew it. But he didn't say anything, he just nodded. The truth was, her father hated him. Badly. And, he hadn't told her everything about himself. One day Vitoria had been in his house to surprise him and when he finally returned home, his clothes had been covered with blood. He seemed fine. So she had left his house without telling him she was there and the next day he acted just like he always did. Vitoria didn't know why she never asked him about that night. The only thing she did know was that when he proposed, she panicked.

Vitoria recalled the memories she had of Evando and then pushed them all away. "I need to go." She pushed herself off the guardrail and gave him a soft smile. Before she left the balcony, Evando grabbed her hand. His eyes were looking directly in hers.

"It was good to see you again, Vitoria." She easily could've mistaken her name for the sound of rustling leaves – he had whispered it in a hush.

She just blinked in reply and then left him standing on the balcony. Vitoria rushed out of the mansion and glanced around the backyard for Sophia. She shoved people out of the way, ignoring the annoyed glances she got in return, while she tried to find her friend.

Vitoria was walking near the fountain and entered a part of the backyard where no one was allowed to come (she had no idea), when something grabbed her arm and she was suddenly eyeing a hooded figure.

"Alvar? What are you doing here?" she asked surprised. Sometimes she got the feeling that man was following her and she didn't know why.

"I can ask you the same question," he retorted. Even though Vitoria couldn't see his eyes, she knew he was alerted.

"I was asked by my friend to come here. Have you seen her?"

Alvar ignored her question and retorted: "How do you know the host?"

She narrowed her eyes. So he had seen her with Evando. "Why should I tell you?"

Suddenly, Alvar grabbed her wrist and pulled her down with him. A guard holding a candle entered the same part of the backyard Alvar and Vitoria were in. He didn't seem alarmed – this part of the backyard was probably part of his rounds. The guard was standing fifteen metres away and the candle wasn't bright enough to illuminate the spots of Alvar and Vitoria.

Vitoria knew she should be watching the guard, but she couldn't concentrate while Alvar was still holding her wrist. She hated herself for this.

"Evando Kellis is a Templar. You should stay away from him," Alvar whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her skin. Evando Kellis was a Templar? Now she understood why her father hated him so much.

The guard moved away to another part of the backyard and Vitoria let out a sigh of relief. Along with Alvar, she rose to her feet.

"Well, all the more reason to get back home," she mumbled while dusting herself off. She felt Alvar's eyes watching her and when she finally looked up, she saw he had crossed his arms.

"Your friend is sitting on a bench near the fountain," he muttered and watched as Vitoria stepped away from him to see for herself if he was speaking the truth.

When she finally found Sophia sitting on a bench near the fountain, just like he had told her, and looked back, Alvar was gone. She decided to follow his example and walked up to Sophia, pulled her off the bench – ignoring her protests – and left the mansion without looking back.


	11. Feelings

**Yoooooo guyzz!**

**A little holiday treat, lawl. Very little. Yah, this chapter is short but that is because the chapters are planned and this one was short. I believe the next one isn't that big either. It happends. Don't worry, they won't stay short forever. :]**

**MrJaffaJack: Yeah I'm fine. =] Aaaaand, well. Not exactly. They will come in contact with something like it, but this chapter explains that a little bit. **

**calwitch: Yeah well, her father would've never let her marry him anyway haha. So she kind a had no choice.**

**kykyxstandler: He does sound sexy. He is sexy. And bad. Bad boys ftw D. Kidding, Alvar for the win. Aaaaand, thank you =]**

**So, I love this chapter. It was fun to write.**

**Anywayz, merry x-mas and a happy new year guys! I hope you have a wonderful couple of days. Mine are planned with tons of things. So I will be very much enjoying myself these days. I hope you do too. **

**Without further ado, have a good day and enjoy!**

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><p>"Ah, Alvar. I see you have returned." Adonai was standing in front of his desk, as if he had been waiting on him to return. "I trust you were successful?"<p>

Alvar had closed the doors of the library behind him as soon as he entered and bowed respectfully before the Master. His eyes studied the room briefly and then gave the man a nod. "Yes, Master."

Adonai nodded, pleased with this. "What did you find out?"

Alvar thought back on the party, which happened a couple of hours ago. He had been following Filipe until the morning, then he decided the man would say no more on the subject and retreated to the base. "He was talking about a door that cannot be opened for it has no keyhole – or that is what Filipe said. Evando Kellis thought differently."

Adonai was frowning – something he did whenever he was deep in thought. He was staring blankly ahead and then he seemed to make a connection – Alvar saw it in his eyes.

"Why do the Templars want to open that door?" Alvar gave Adonai a questioning glance.

His Mentor took a moment to order his thoughts and then turned to his pupil. "It is believed that this door you are talking about is protecting something very powerful from the world. It is said to be a weapon made by the hands of gods and wield by the King of the gods."

"Zeus?"

Adonai nodded. "Zeus."

Alvar thought about this. "Do you know where this door is?" He finally asked.

Adonai nodded again. "I know where it is and I also know that it is akin to impossible for us to see the door for ourselves. The Templars are guarding it night and day."

This information made Alvar a little wary. He looked keen at his Mentor. "You already knew the information I gave you?"

The Mentor slowly walked around his desk and sat down on the chair, arms resting on the armrests. "I had my suspicions, but I wasn't sure. Now I am. This door is located in the fourth cave at the Acropolis."

Alvar quirked his brow. "Fourth?" He was only familiar with three caves at the Acropolis. The Cave of Aglauros, the Cave of Apollo and the Cave of Pan. He did not know there was another cave located there.

"Yes, the fourth cave. A cave one doesn't see if one didn't know of its existence. The Cave of Zeus, a small cave that only contains the door." Adonai moistened his lips. "If the Templars get their hands on that weapon, the world will not be free. Athens will never have tasted freedom and we... The Assassins will vanish."

"So we need to get the key before they do."

The Mentor studied Alvar for a moment. "Yes. But I have no idea where the key is located. I even doubt that we are looking for a metal key – based on your information that there is no keyhole. But what are we looking for then? I do not know. We are completely in the dark."

"What a relieve that we work in the dark then."

* * *

><p>Vitoria had been making herself some food when one of the Assassins walked in. She hadn't been surprised – it happened often. The Assassins needed to eat too. Some of them bought it themselves, some of them didn't. The last time she had been eating in the kitchen, Ion and two of his fellow Assassins came in. Leon and Dryas if she recalled their names correctly. They ate together and she had laughed at some of the stories Ion had told about his friends.<p>

This Assassin she had seen before. And she was quite confident that he didn't like her here. At all. She didn't know his name, but she recognized his robes and the looks he gave her. He was different than Alvar. Alvar spoke to her and seemed to accept her presence. Kind of. She hoped. But this Assassin... not so much.

Vitoria sat quietly down with her food at the table, her mind drifting away to the previous night. She was okay with the fact that Sophia tried to cheer her up – even though it ended disastrous. But she forgave her friend for all that (like bailing on her when Evando showed up). It was pretty clear that Sophia tried to get them back together but Vitoria wished she hadn't done it in the first place. The last person she wanted back in her life was Evando.

Her thoughts were interrupted because of the Assassin who was staring at her – she couldn't see his eyes but she felt them. It annoyed her that these Assassins communicated by some sort of stare-language. If one felt hatred towards another person, stare this person down until it becomes uncomfortable.

"Do you need something?" she asked without showing her annoyance.

"Leave," he hissed in reply, his eyes never straying from hers.

Vitoria wasn't sure if she understood this correctly. "Excuse me?" She quirked a brow, eyes narrowing.

"You should not be here. You have no business here. Go." He was demanding, words like poison dripping from his lips. She didn't like him at all.

"I have more business here than anyone else in this mansion. I own this mansion. If you don't like it then I suggest that you should leave." Her words were spoken slowly, so that he would understand every bit of it. There were two things she hated; men who treated women like dogs and women who allowed themselves to be treated like dogs.

The Assassin wasn't happy with her reply – his muscles tightened and he clenched one of his fists. She wasn't sure if he did that on purpose or not – his next words, however, were voiced on purpose:

"Do not speak to me like that, you filthy whore," he growled, walking towards her.

Vitoria had already rose to her feet, walking backwards. He was stronger than her and he was armed. She recognized the hidden blades attached to his wrists – a weapon the Assassins were known for. Every Assassin had one.

"I am not a whore, Assassin," she hissed. Her heart sank when her back hit the wall behind her. There was nowhere to go and this Assassin was still moving closer.

He quirked a brow – something Vitoria failed to see. "Not? Have I not seen it with my own eyes that you go into the House of Pleasure?" He pressed one hand against a spot next to her head on the wall, leaning. He seemed to tower over her – this was exactly the meaning of the position he was standing in; making her feel small.

Vitoria felt anger blossoming in her stomach. Why was every stupid Assassin following her around? The only reason why she entered the brothel was because of Sophia!

The Assassin seemed to read her mind. "We do not live with strangers," he answered just before Vitoria pushed him away as hard as she could with the words: "Get away from me." The push was hard enough to let him stumble backwards, creating a way out. She walked away from him, her eyes flashing warily at him.

"You should not have done this," he mumbled, eyes darkening. He took big steps to get to her, while Vitoria looked for another way out, her heart hammered in her chest, as her eyes glanced back at him, noticing that both of his fists were clenched. She was in trouble.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, someone had slipped between them, making the Assassin stop abruptly in his tracks. Vitoria was staring at the back of another Assassin, who had pushed the first Assassin away, making him almost fall on his rear.

"Get the hell away from her, Lazar."

It was only then that Vitoria realized who just saved her from this man named Lazar. Alvar.

Lazar recovered quickly from Alvar's attack – if one could call it that. If looks could kill, he had ripped Alvar already apart in several ways. "Alvar," he hissed in return. His eyes were glancing at different objects while his mind was thinking of a way to harm Alvar in a very, painful manner. Alvar, however, had read his mind.

"As much I would like to fight you, Lazar, we cannot compromise the Brotherhood. So get your food and walk away." He watched the Snake closely as he noticed that he relaxed a little, unclenched his fists and finally accepted Alvar's words. There was only one thing that Lazar and Alvar had in common – they both respected the Creed dearly.

Alvar watched until Lazar had grabbed his bread and walked out of the kitchen. He listened intently for the footsteps to disappear.

Vitoria was still frowning at the doorway where Lazar had just disappeared. "What is wrong with him?" she mumbled angrily, crossing her arms in annoyance. When she first came here, she had told herself that there would be people disagreeing with her staying in their "base". Lazar took "disagreeing" to a whole new level. He had simply been rude.

"A lot," Alvar answered. He turned around to face Vitoria, studying her.

She glanced towards the doorway, then back at Alvar. Her hard expression softened. "Well, thank you for what you did just so." She wished her heart wasn't pounding as loudly as it did – she got the feeling he could hear it from where he was standing. Alvar just shrugged in reply and honestly, that was enough of a reply to her. It seemed as if the sun was shining through the roof – the room had suddenly turned hot and she wondered if Alvar could feel it too. Probably not.

"Anyway," she said, moving around the table and avoiding the chance to become close to Alvar. He was like the sun, radiating a lot of heat. And, her knees would probably fail to keep her up. What had gotten into her suddenly? "I have got to go." She smiled to him, slowly walking backwards to the doorway. She waited in the doorway, still watching Alvar who hadn't said a thing. Then she realized she was staring. "Bye." Vitoria rushed towards the stairs, failing to notice that Alvar had an amused expression in his eyes as he had watched her go.

Vitoria could slap herself in the face. Not because her stupid behaviour – well, maybe that too – but also because she had certain feelings... And she knew those feelings. And she didn't want those feelings. He saved her from a couple of situations and her body immediately thought he was handsome and likeable and...

Stop.

Vitoria plopped down on her bed as she wiped a hand over her face before she stared blankly at the ceiling.

Hmpf. Darn Assassins.


	12. The Cave of Zeus

**Hey guyz!**

**I hope yall enjoyed Christmas. I sure did. **

**MrJaffaJack: Hahaha wow! A lot of info you got there. But yeah, it's true. Probably. The second is indeed true. Why make a story if there ain't no asshole in it. That's just boring. I like assholes, except when I read stories. Then I hate them. That's the idea, of course. And thank you! Thank you for reviewing every chapter, that's insanely awesome. You da best. :***

**kykyxstandler: Yes, Alvar is our hero. He is so cute. And thank you too for reviewing a lot of my chapz. loveyaaaaa.**

**So a new chapter. I loved to write from Evando's POV. Refreshing. Anyway, this year is almost over. See yall next year.**

**Have a good day and enjoy this chapter!**

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><p><em>Evando Kellis<em>

He had a way of walking that didn't make him stand out in a crowd. He walked as if he was perpetually in a hurry, although his footfalls made no sound whatsoever. His steps were long, but not rapid. He passed by several people, who did not react to him at all. No one did. The people of Athens didn't look beyond their knowledge. They simply didn't care or ignored everything other than what they wanted to see. The Assassins were the ones who lurked in the shadows, watching all. The stealth-skills the Assassins mastered over the years were very dangerous.

Evando looked up at the Acropolis; an ancient citadel located on a high rocky outcrop above the city. For once, it weren't the buildings that intrigued him – they weren't the ones that lured him towards the Acropolis. It were the rocks – or what lay beneath the rocks. The Acropolis was located near the Vasco Bank and the Court of Justice, it was located in the centre of the city. The red/brown-ish bricks that created the wall to defend the Acropolis from whatever attack it had in store for it, made it look beautiful.

The Templar walked past the Propylaea; the entrance to the Acropolis. For a moment he stood still in front of it, watching the people walking up and down the white stairs. Some were sitting on them, resting. He noticed the guards standing next to the pillars. Their backs were straight and their faces serious. Their eyes watched everything, studied every person, sometimes yelled at one of the people to walk on. When their eyes met with the spot Evando stood, he had already left it. He didn't have to go up the stairs today, he didn't have to admire the Parthenon or the temple of Athena Nike – something he loved to do in his spare time. It was something about the architecture that amazed him.

The Cave of Zeus, as the people who knew of it called it, was located in the shadows of the Acropolis. The entrance was hidden between rocks, making it impossible to detect from a distance. The only reason Evando spotted the entrance almost immediately was because he knew it was there. If he hadn't been blessed with this information, he surely would have walked past it – like everyone else did.

While Evando strayed from the path, strolling over the green grass, looking over his shoulder if someone was watching him, he noticed the scenic sky above him. The sun was shining fiercely down on him; she was a cruel mistress today. The rays were touching everything that could be touched, illuminating like a fire that couldn't die. Sometimes a cloud would pass by it, making the world remember once more that there was still darkness inside it.

Upon entry, a sword was pointed at his throat. The man who was wielding it carried a bitter expression on his face, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"Can you point that elsewhere?" Evando said calmly, as if it was not a problem that a man was threatening him with a sword.

The guard – which he was – lowered his sword to a certain section below the belt, stopping there. The man glared defiantly. It was a spot where a man certainly did not want a sharp object near.

"Better?" the guard asked, he had a thick accent which revealed he came from somewhere near the suburbs.

Evando quirked a brow. "Not really." He was about to reveal his name to this Templar guard when another guard appeared from inside the cave – well, one couldn't call it a cave, really. It seemed more like a stone hallway with a couple of symbols written in the stone.

"Dax, let him through. He is with us," the other guard demanded.

Evando glanced from the cave-hallway back to the man whose name was apparently Dax. Dax, however, just sheathed his sword, crossed his arms and leaned against the stone without bothering himself once more with the sight of a rich templar lad.

"Just walk on and you will see it," the guard muttered as he stepped aside to let Evando pass him by. Evando just nodded and did as he was told.

The cave-hallway wasn't as long – and spacious – as he had expected. Nevertheless, it was just a intriguing as he had thought. The symbols were definitely something he would decipher any day. Not this day, however. He came here for a reason.

The hallway led into some kind of room. The room was just a liveable as the hallway – it seemed like this cave was made by the hands of men. The only indication of this being a cave was the ceiling, that looked moistened and rocky. The smell too – even though the burned candles and fire covered the cave-smell.

The walls of the room looked just like the hallway – they had symbols too. The room was rounder and more spacious. Three people were in the room. Two of them were guards, standing with their backs towards the hallway, the other one was a man, covering his identity behind a black cloak. He wore a long, red/gold rectangular cloth around his neck that could have been a scarf if he had tied the ends. It was made of some sort fabric that looked like satin, but probably wasn't as soft. The air around this man was no more than danger. He looked sinister; as if something bad was about to happen by him.

It was the Grand Master himself. He was the one who noticed this cave a long time ago with something he called his 'second sight'.

The scarf wasn't the only thing he wore around his neck, a necklace that only contained silver cross was there too. The symbol of the Templars.

Evando stood a few metres away from him, his eyes glancing around the odd room. "Your guard is barking. I am impressed."

The Grand Master straightened his back, making him even more broader than he was. "That is what I wanted. When our men will return to the city, you will not recognize them, Evando. I have hardened them, making sure there is no weakness in them and that they truly believe in our cause." His voice was low pitched, making him even more frightening. If Evando had learned one thing from the Grand Master it was that he was unpredictable. That made him dangerous for his next move could either harm you or not. He was a man prepared to die for the Templars, no matter what. This made him a respectable man.

The Grand Master turned towards Evando – his face was covered by a hood, only the tip of his nose could be seen in this poor-lit room. "Before we begin, how was Italy?"

Evando narrowed his eyes for a moment, thinking back at the trip. "It was rough."

"So I've heard."

"I lost a lot of men, sadly," Evando said without showing any emotion. However, it was always sad to lose anyone.

"Because of the Assassins?"

Evando nodded his head. "One in particularly. I talked to Rodrigo Borgia."

The Grand Master nodded his head. "Ah, Rodrigo. How is he?"

"He is dead. But when I talked to him he told me about a certain Assassin named Ezio Auditore, who was giving the Templars a hard time."

The Grand Master was silent for a moment. "This Assassin murdered Rodrigo?"

Evando shook his head. "No. He had... family problems. He got too greedy, anyway."

The Grand Master sighed deeply. "Ah, yes. A mistake that is made by a lot of men, and will be made by a lot more. Power can make any man turn into a mindless being. It corrupts. Rodrigo was one of our best until he forgot the purpose of the Templars." He was silent for a moment. "A minor setback. But do not worry, where there are Assassins, there will be Templars. Where there is too much freedom, there will be chaos and Templars will intervene, eventually. Even if the people who intervene do not know who or what we are, they are born as one of us and die as one us." He made hand gesture towards the stone wall in front of them. It was the only wall in the room that did not have any symbols on it. The wall had layers on it but no holes. Different images of people were imprinted in it.

"Is this the door?" Evando asked, amazed by it. It seemed to him like a normal wall.

The Grand Master nodded his head. "A door made by gods. Tell me what you see, Evando."

Evando knew that this was the permission to investigate the door, so he walked towards it. With every step he took, the air thickened around him. It was as if something was pushing itself against his chest, making it hard to breathe. He was sure that whatever it was that was causing this, it didn't want him to get closer.

He stopped before the door, his eyes glancing over every little detail it had. He was a little out of breath. It was a large door, Evando had to crane his neck to look at the top. The details were fine and beautiful, no mistakes were made. It was just old, and that was visible. "I believe it are the gods who are imprinted on this door," he mumbled. He slowly placed his hands on the stone material – something he should not have done. The symbols all around the room and the hallway suddenly started to glow a golden/orange light. Evando felt heat coming off the door, on his hand. At first, it felt pleasant. Then, it became too hot and he had to pull his hand away. The heat continued until the palm of his hand was burned as if he had touched fire. The pain was excruciating.

"Argh," he growled and stepped back from the door. He was holding his wrist in his unburned hand. "How are we supposed to open this door when we cannot touch it?"

The Grand Master looked keenly at the door. "That does not matter. Have you found some kind of keyhole? An indication that this door can be opened?" His eyes glanced back at Evando, who shook his head.

"I am quite sure that this door can be opened, but I think we need something powerful to do the trick. Something that has to do with this." He had crossed his arms too, ignoring the pain is his hand.

The Grand Master nodded his head. "I thought so, too. We should look into old legends, myths, folklores and books. Maybe we can find anything about this particular door."

Evando nodded his head in agreement. "I will spread the word." He bowed his head and was about to walk into the hallway when the Grand Master said his name.

"Yes?" He waited patiently until he had spoken.

"Be careful and be silent about this. We don't want the Assassins to intervene."

Evando gave him a nod. "Of course." With that, he walked out of the cave.

* * *

><p>Vitoria was a little surprised when she arrived at the Great Plaza. This morning she thought to herself to go to the market to buy some food and maybe some other things. But the market wasn't there.<p>

She frowned as she watched the plaza carefully. A lot of people had gathered themselves in front of the gallows. Guards were placed between the crowd and the gallows, there were guards placed on the stand.

The gallows were being used.

Vitoria blinked. It wasn't the first time she had seen it happen, but it was the first time this happened on this particular day. She almost dropped the basket she was holding – for some reason this was not good. Most of the times, the gallows were used once a month, maybe twice. But this was already the second time this week.

"You just missed the king's speech," a man mumbled from behind her. She turned around and saw a concerned Sam looking directly at her. She turned back around and he stood next to her.

"What did he say?" she asked.

"He will get the beggars and the homeless off the streets and into a house. The poorest part of Athens, there will they go. It is already called Beggar Street. They will live under wood and blankets, no walls," he mumbled.

"But they will have a roof?"

Sam nodded his head. "Yes. Sort of. He also said he will hang the criminals. No matter the age."

Vitoria watched as two men and a woman were walking up the wooden steps, their eyes watching their feet. They were neatly placed on the stand; each got a noose around their necks. When one of the guards said their names and their conviction, their eyes finally locked onto the crowd – probably searching for familiar faces.

"In the name of the king, I hereby sentence you all to death."

A guard pulled a lever. The crowd mourned. A kid was crying. Legs were dangling. Necks were broken.

Vitoria turned her head towards Sam whose eyes were still watching the gallows. His fists were clenched. He was mad. Who could blame him?

"So the king kills more criminals and he creates Beggar Street to home the homeless. It seems like he is walking away from his brutal method. Maybe everything will be better."

Sam turned his head, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Is that what you believe?" he spat.

Vitoria simply returned his gaze. "It is what I want to believe, Sam."

Sam's shoulder rolled back and he calmed himself. "I don't like it. I don't like it at all."

X

"Look who has returned! The food lady." It was Ion who had said it. Vitoria had just locked the door of the mansion when the voice interrupted her thoughts. It came from the kitchen. On her way back from the Great Plaza, and the couple of shops she entered to get the food she needed, she hadn't seen one beggar on the streets. Which was odd for she always saw beggars at every corner she turned.

She entered the kitchen where Ion, Leon, Dryas and Alvar were sitting at the table, as if they had waited for her return. She just had to place the basket on the table and Ion was already putting the food in the right spot. Dryas immediately grabbed an apple. She had bought the typical things like bread – a lot of bread, the Assassins ate a lot of it –, fruit, meat and vegetables.

"I didn't buy it at the market though," she mumbled as she helped Ion.

"You didn't buy it at the market?" Leon asked with a frown.

"Why not?" Dryas mumbled with a piece of apple still in his mouth.

When the basket was empty, she put it on the ground, in a corner, so that no one could fall because of it. She knew how painful that was. "No, the gallows were in use."

Ion almost dropped the bread he was holding. "The gallows?"

"Again?" Leon blinked. "That must be the second time this week."

While his friends were still recovering from this information, Alvar asked: "Vitoria, did the king say anything else?" His golden eyes flashed from under his hood. Vitoria could see most of his face.

She nodded, her eyes never straying from Alvar's. "He is changing the poorest part of Athens into 'Beggar Street'. He is basically putting every beggar in Athens there, to get them a roof above their heads."

Ion narrowed his eyes. He had put the bread on the kitchen counter. "That is a noble deed..."

Vitoria nodded her head. "Sam believes the king has hidden intentions with this change. He doesn't know what."

"Sam is that talking man with a death wish on the Great Plaza, right?" Dryas asked before taking another bite off his apple.

Vitoria nodded.

"Well," Alvar started, his eyes slowly meeting Vitoria's. "Maybe Sam is right."


	13. Assassination

**Hey guyz!**

**Yeah, another chappie. Whoohoo. It's been a while - which is because from here on I have no idea what will happen. I know how this story will end, just have no clue how to get there. xd I'll figure it out eventually. **

**MrJaffaJack: Ah that sucks. And, what did you think of Unity (and Rogue - I haven't played that one)? Even though everyone's complaining about the bugs and all, I loved Unity. Like a lot. Idc about any glitches, idc if Arno walks through a bunch of people or walls. The game was hella amazing. **

**kykyxstandler: Yeah. We like to see dem templars burn. waitwhat. o.o**

**Anyway, have a good day and enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Alvar's eyes were staring at the ceiling of his bedchambers. The soft colours of the chamber he had to share with Ion were pleasant for his eyes. It wasn't really decorated. He couldn't care less about decoration. Adonai was a man who seemed to enjoy decorations. The paintings and statues in the hallway were an example of this.<p>

Alvar placed his hands behind his head as he continued to stare at nothing, letting his mind wander. He had thought about the words Vitoria had spoken, about the speech of the king. He went to Beggar Street to see for himself what the fuss was about. Beggar Street was now the poorest part of Athens, people were living under blankets and pieces of wood. But they were living under _something_. He had thought about the words of this friend of Vitoria's, Sam. He, too, felt there was something off about this situation – the king wasn't like this. But then again, maybe Zephyr Vasco finally decided to change Greece in something it should've been a long time ago.

Finally, he let his mind wander to a certain subject that had bothered him the last couple of days. He didn't know why but sometimes it just popped up in his head and it would not leave. He told himself he had stepped in because it had been Lazar, a man he hated a lot. What if he hadn't stepped in because of Lazar? What if he had stepped in because of something else? Because _someone_ else?

He had covered this particularly subject so many times that he wasn't so sure anymore. And that bothered him. He was being affected in a way he had never experienced before. And he wanted it to stop. Whatever it was that was doing this to him; _stop_. He could hear Adonai's voice in his head from years ago: _Women are a distraction, Alvar. Don't let them cloud your mind, or judgement, that is._

"Hello?" the voice of his roommate snapped him back to the real world. Ion was towering over him, waving his hand like an idiot in front of Alvar's eyes. "Do you have a physical disorder I am not aware of? Are you sleeping with your eyes open?"

Like an eagle catching his prey in midflight, Alvar grabbed his friend's wrist and made him stop waving. He sat up straight on his bed. When his boots touched the ground he let go of Ion's wrist. Alvar wiped a hand over his face, trying to clear his mind at the same time.

"Did I interrupt something?" he asked as he moved himself to the desk where he had put the book he was currently reading.

Alvar shook his head. "No." He took another moment until he rose to his feet, turning his head towards Ion, who was sitting in the chair, feet placed on the desk and the book in his hands. His usual reading-position. "What do you want from me?"

"I do not want anything from you. However, Adonai does. He wants to speak to you," Ion answered, his eyes flickered from behind his book.

Alvar gave his friend a nod and exited his bedchamber. He walked through the fancy-decorated hallway and as he neared the library, he noticed the doors were open. An indication that Adonai wasn't there or wasn't busy. Even though Alvar had ignored the closed doors at all times.

The familiar creak of the floorboards broke the silence in the library as Alvar stepped inwards. He glanced at the bureau where Adonai had been waiting on him. He gestured to close the doors and Alvar obeyed. Then, he bowed his head and eyed his Master questioningly.

"Piers Kalivas," Adonai said as he rose to his feet, clasping his hands behind his back. He eyed his pupil intently. "That is your next victim. He has to be assassinated for he means nothing but trouble to us."

Alvar quickly glanced at the floorboards. "Piers Kalivas." He tasted the words on his tongue, trying to figure out whether this man was familiar to him or not. He got nothing so he looked back at his Mentor. "Who is he?"

Adonai sucked in a deep breath as he turned around and walked past his desk, gazing down at the documents that were lying on it. "Piers Kalivas is currently an officer in the City Watch. If something happened to the Head of the City Watch, he would be the replacement." His eyes followed the lines that had been written on the papers on the desk and, finally, Adonai looked up at Alvar. "I have reason to believe he is working with the Templars. I am trusting you this mission, Alvar. Do not let me down."

Alvar's eyes sparkled from under his hood. It had been too long. "I won't, Master."

X

Alvar was standing behind a wooden palisade as the two guards he had been following for over an hour stopped walking and leaned against the other side of the palisade. Alvar had been eavesdropping on their conversation, trying to get some sort of information that could lead him to Piers. Unfortunately, the guards had been talking about their wives instead of Piers.

The Assassin wore his white/brown robes. His mouth was covered with a black cloth – only his eyes were visible. He had two short swords sheathed at both sides of his belt, a knife was strapped to his thigh and his throwing-knives were fastened at the back. Of course, he had taken his hidden blades with him as well. This was the gear he usual took with him on mission such as these.

Alvar was about to change his approach – he had been listening for too long to these two guards who hadn't said anything useful, so he was getting really annoyed. He looked up at the palisade, thinking of a way to make them talk, when they finally started a conversation he was interested in.

"So, you think Kalivas will hurt the kid?" The brute asked slightly concerned. Alvar knew the man had a kid himself – he had told the other guard this.

The guard shrugged. "Can't tell ya. The kid stole his pouch. You know yourself how he doesn't like to be outsmarted."

"Hmpf," came the reply of the brute. "It's just a kid."

"A thief nonetheless. That boy will face the gallows soon enough."

The brute crossed his arms, knowing that he couldn't do anything about it. "If only I was sittin' at a fancy desk, reading stupid documents in the State." The brute referred to the State-building, a building located in the west of Athens. It was a building where the council of the king came together. The brute had talked about it before in his other conversations with his mate – he had explained it.

Finally, Alvar knew where he was needed.

It took him a little while to get to the building. The purple sky had transformed into a sea of darkness. The stars and the moon were hiding behind clouds that, in the daytime had been white and cotton-like, but at night-time had changed into streams of gray. This gave Athens a hazy and ominous feel to it.

Alvar had been running on top of the State-building, trying to locate his target. The State-building looked like a typical-Greek building from the front, but it had three sides: the horizontal front-side and the two vertical sides which were proportional to each other.

Piers Kalivas was located on the third floor, in an office located at the end of a hallway. There was, however, a window open on the second floor.

He climbed down and waited until one of the guards, who was guarding the room, had passed the window. Then the Assassin jumped in and walked stealthily after the guard.

The guard never saw it coming.

While Alvar had silenced the guard and placed him somewhere out of sight, he had focused himself on the next room, which contained the staircase that went up towards the third floor. It also contained three guards. One was leaning on the guardrail, looking down onto the first floor, one was staring occasionally out of the window and the last guard walked around. Three guards. Attached to his belt he had three throwing-knives. He knew what to do.

Alvar waited until one of the guards stared out of the window, then stepped in the room with his throwing-knives in his hand. He threw the first throwing-knife in the chest of the man who had been walking, the second hit the guard who had been leaning on the guardrail in the head, making him collapse onto the ground. The clattering sound of swords hitting the ground could be heard.

The guard who had been standing at the window had heard the noise and jerked his head to the sound of his mates. He didn't get a chance to realize what was happening for Alvar ran to him and snapped his neck in a blink of an eye.

While the Assassin collected his throwing-knives, he watched the floor beneath him carefully. But there wasn't a guard that decided to walk up the stairs. He doubted if the guards had heard the noise in the first place.

He wiped the blood off his knives and reattached them on his belt. Then he walked quietly up the stairs and started to clear the third floor from the guards. He did not kill all of them, but couldn't spare every man's life.

When he was finally standing in front of the door where his target, Piers Kalivas, was located, he waited and turned around. He scanned the room and noted every potential exit. He doubted that Piers would overpower him. Then, finally, he swung the door open.

A thirty-year-old man sat in a chair, writing some sort of paper, when Alvar barged in. He looked up and, with difficulty, grabbed the Assassin's wrist where a blade was pointing right at him. The chair he had been sitting on fell backwards and clattered onto the ground. Piers followed the blade to the eyes of the Assassin – the only thing that made this man human.

"I can offer you a lot of money if you are willing to spare me," Piers negotiated while his strength was failing him.

Alvar pushed him hard against a bookcase, causing a couple of books to fall on the ground. "I am not interested," he growled. However, Piers had a knife attached to his belt and he had grabbed it. He tried to stab Alvar, but the Assassin parried that attack with his arm.

Suddenly, the two of them were struggling. Both of them got banged against walls and got blows from their opponent. They tried to kill each other until Alvar got an opportunity to kill the man with his hidden blade.

A little out of breath, Alvar placed the lifeless body of Piers on the ground as the man was choking on his own blood. He gave him a nod and finally Piers stopped struggling; he puffed out his last breath.

Alvar rose to his feet – he felt a little bruised. He noticed the documents lying on the desk Piers had been sitting and searched it swiftly. There was only one paper that interested him. It was a letter Piers had been working on when he interrupted. There were no names in it, just the letters _G.M _(abbreviated for Grand Master). While he read the letter, he felt worry bubbling up inside him.

The letter mentioned that the Templars had trained some sort of army. It said that this 'army' would enter Athens soon. Soon.

"When is 'soon'?" Alvar muttered questionably.

Then his head snapped towards the fully-opened door. He heard the sound of running boots and shouts. Guards had discovered their non-functional mates.

The shouts became louder and the guards ran to the office of Piers. The first thing they noticed was the mess, then the body and finally, an open window.


	14. Rescue Mission

**Yo yo yo!**

**Back again whoohoo. So Imma just leave this here.**

**kykyxstandler: yeah, Alvar is a sweetiepie. He can be so cute when he's not serious 'nd all. =3**

**MrJaffaJack: Damn. I need to get Rogue. I need to know what the ending is. xd Anyway, Ubisoft fixed the bugs with a patch a while back so that's why you ain't getting no bugsies =D. Praise Ubisoft for making Dead Kings free, which was out like two days ago. I have only played the first mission, though. Atm I am addicted to Dragon Age: Inquisition. And I totally agree on the Christmas part. Or the January sale for that matter. 4 great games, 100 euros. Thank god for my brother who has the same taste in games as myself. Actually, I'm very evil. He buys the games, I play them. :D And thank you =]**

**As usual, have a nice day and enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Vitoria yawned as she leaned on the guardrail of her balcony. She watched as the first hued rays of sunrise fell over the city, letting the people know that a new day was starting. She sighed as she watched as the city slowly woke up, then she turned around and stepped off the balcony, closing the French doors behind her.<p>

As she walked out of her bedchamber, her eyes drifted towards the painting Arastoo saved from her house. She had placed it on the ground for she hadn't felt like hanging it on the wall just yet.

She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to get something to eat, when she heard footsteps in the hallway, a door closing and sounds that came from most likely the library. It were voices. It hadn't been her intention to eavesdrop on the conversation, but her feet had already carried her to the doorway of the kitchen. She glanced into the hallway, seeing that the doors of the library were still open. Vitoria focused herself on the voices.

"... he imprisoned a kid. Then they told me of his whereabouts – Kalivas had been in the State." That was definitely Alvar who was talking. He continued: "The deed is done, however, I found something on his desk that troubles me." It sounded as if he was unfolding a paper.

It was silent for a moment – he was most likely talking to Adonai, who was reading the paper he gave him.

"This is indeed troubling," Adonai mumbled. Another moment of silence. "Very well, Alvar. You may leave, close the doors behind you. I need to think this through."

"Yes, Master," he replied in a monotone voice. She heard him stepping away and closing the doors behind him – just as he was told.

Vitoria put away the food she was holding and ran after him. Alvar already heard her and turned around to face her. His hood wasn't covering his face and for a moment she forgot what the hell she was doing.

"What is it?" he asked tiredly. He had been up all night to complete the mission Adonai gave him.

Vitoria blinked a couple of times and glanced away from his golden orbs that seemed to study every movement of hers. Then she remembered why she ran after him in the first place. "That boy... Did you save him?" She understood from the story that he had assassinated Piers Kalivas, one of Arastoo's men, and that he had imprisoned a little boy.

Alvar's eyes narrowed upon hearing her question, understanding that she had been eavesdropping on his conversation with the Mentor. He quirked his brow.

Vitoria eyed back. "What? This whole place is crowded with eavesdroppers. Moreover, you should close the library doors." Alvar still watched her quietly, so she decided to repeat the question.

"He was not my mission," he finally replied with no emotion whatsoever.

"So you did not save him?"

"No. I assassinate people, I do not save them."

Vitoria wanted to roll her eyes but restrained herself from doing so. "You only save the people who _matter, _right?"

"Right." This wasn't true, but Alvar was too tired to give a lecture about the Assassins and their beliefs. He watched as she turned around and walked away when he said her name. She stopped without turning around.

"This does not mean that he is _your_ mission. Don't do anything stupid." She didn't respond, just walked away and entered the kitchen to do whatever she had been doing.

Alvar turned around as well and walked through the hallway, then entering his own bedchamber which was empty. It was morning and he was tired. He lay down on his bed, throwing his robes in the corner of the room and closed his eyes. He felt the bruises he had caught while fighting Piers hurting on his body. He had worse. It didn't take him long to fall asleep.

* * *

><p>She was doing something stupid. No doubt about it, she was the biggest idiot alive at the moment. At the mansion she had thought this through and it had sounded much better then. However, she was currently walking through the streets of Athens, her mind was racing over her plan and she wasn't so sure anymore. Her plan had been really simple: walk to the State, get the boy. They probably wouldn't give him to her that easily – so she had brought some money with her. She didn't know what to do with it anyway. She just hoped the boy was there in the first place. If he wasn't... Well, then she had to ask Arastoo if he knew something about the boy.<p>

It was a stupid plan, but for some reason she did it anyway. Maybe because she just had so much time on her hands – no, that wasn't it. She did it because she stood for nothing. Her father, the Assassins, even the Templars had something they lived for. _She_ _just wanted to do something useful. _

Vitoria gave a little shiver as the breeze brushed past her cheeks. Her eyes caught the majestic building from afar. In some of the windows she could see the candles illuminating the room. Her eyes couldn't see the guards just yet – she was too far away and it was too dark to see. Maybe going to the State in the evening hadn't been such a great idea.

She walked steadier as she past the ordinary houses where most of the people had gone to bed. She was still amazed that she hadn't seen any beggar on any street – they had all listened to the king (some with force, probably).

Vitoria quirked her brow when she was standing on the first step of a stairs that lead to the entrance. Where were the guards?

She looked around, but there was no one who seemed to be interested. No guards in the street either. Weird. Her eyes glanced back to the door and she noticed one of the doors wasn't even fully closed.

Hesitantly, she pushed the door further open but something blocked it from opening completely. Nevertheless, she found a way to wriggle through. Her eyes fell on the blockage and she realized that she was looking at one of the guards. When she looked a little further around the room, she noticed more guards were lying on the ground. They were still breathing, fortunately, but they didn't seem to take action anytime soon.

"I explicitly said to not do anything stupid." The voice came from out of nowhere and startled her. She gave a stifled cry, her hand covering her mouth as she turned around to face the Assassin. Alvar.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed quietly. Vitoria was aware of the fact that there were more floors in this building. More floors meant more guards.

"I could ask you the same question," he said, quirking a brow. Alvar was wearing a black cloth in front of his mouth, so his eyes were only visible. However, Vitoria could have recognized him anywhere.

She rolled her eyes. "I came here for the boy. Your turn."

Alvar glanced around the room before locking eyes on her. "I am helping you from getting yourself killed."

"I would have done just fine without you." Alvar wasn't convinced, so Vitoria continued: "Anyway, have you seen the boy?"

The Assassin grabbed a set of keys from his belt and showed it to her. "We will soon enough." He gestured to follow her and Vitoria did. She accepted the unwanted help and decided that it was for the better – she probably would've screwed it up anyway.

The two of them walked silently through the enormous and luxurious hallway. Alvar stopped as he placed his hand on the door that lead to the backyard of the building. He looked at the door and the walls as Vitoria frowned.

"Looking at walls isn't _that_ helping, you know," she commented a little confused. Alvar turned his head and Vitoria discovered that this man wasn't all serious – his eyes had gained an amused spark she had never seen before.

"I am not looking at walls," he replied simply and then opened the door, grabbing something – or _someone_ – and closed the door after he pulled the guard through the opening of the door. Without flinching, Alvar had choked the man until he was unconscious and placed him against the wall – as if he was just sleeping.

Vitoria was a little shocked. She was aware of the fact that he was an Assassin and he had to be like this in order to not get killed. But still. She wasn't used to seeing things like this. "How did you know he was there?" she mumbled quietly.

"Like I said, I wasn't looking _at_ walls." He gestured to her, he needed her to come closer – so Vitoria listened to him and walked towards him. If he wasn't looking _at_ walls... No, that cannot be. There is no way that a person could see _through_ walls, right?

_Right?_

In all honesty, she wouldn't be that surprised if he could. These Assassins were walking this earth on a whole other level. She looked up at him when she was standing next to him.

"There are guards in the backyard. Just follow my example and you should be fine," he gave her a quick glance as she nodded her head. They waited for a couple of minutes and then Alvar opened the door without making any sounds whatsoever. He watched his surroundings carefully and gestured with his hand that she could follow him.

Vitoria tried to walk as silently as Alvar, which was impossible to do. She surprised to see two guards standing in front of them, their backs turned to the both of them, their eyes gazing at the backyard. If she took five steps forward, she could touch either of them.

Alvar noticed her panicked glance at the guards and he put his finger in front of the black cloth that covered his lips, then he gestured towards the right. Vitoria's eyes glanced briefly across the backyard, noticing a couple of other guards standing between the perfectly trimmed hedges. They weren't paying attention to the building – or the entrance for that matter. No guard expected two people coming out of the well-guarded entrance. Then she followed Alvar's pointed finger towards the stairs that probably led down to the prison.

When Alvar had closed the door with the same stealth, he took the first step and Vitoria followed with a heart that was beating loudly – loud enough for her to feel panicked for the guards could have heard it too. As they increased the distance between the guards and reduced the distance between them and the stairs, Vitoria got a little calmer. She was glad that pillars were casting shadows, making them look like a figment of one's imagination – just a couple of walking shadows.

When the both of them walked down the stairs, Vitoria let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Does this lead to the prison?" she asked, her eyes gazing upwards, expecting guards to appear any minute now. They didn't.

"It does. Stay here," Alvar had already disappeared into the darkness of the prison before Vitoria could reply anything. She sighed and waited as her eyes were still gazing towards the first step of the stairs.

It didn't take him long to return. "It's clear. Come. The kid is here too."

Vitoria followed him down the stairs, into the darkness. There was only one torch lit in this whole prison – and when she walked past a couple of cells she understood why. There was only one prisoner.

The woman hugged herself as a shiver ran down her spine. "It's freezing in here," she muttered under her breath. It wasn't just cold, it also stank. A lot.

When they came to the last cell – the one that was dimly lit by the torch – Vitoria peered in and searched the cell for the boy. She found him sitting with his back against the wall, knees drawn up to his chin, his forehead rested on his knees and he had put his arms around his legs.

The boy raised his head upon hearing the jingle of the keys. Vitoria was surprised as she realized this was the same boy she rescued from a group of City Watch men, a little while back.

When she finally found the right key and turned the lock, opening the door completely, she gave Alvar a quick glance before returning her gaze on the boy. She was about to say something, when the boy rose to his feet and sprinted out of his cell. For a moment, the faint sounds of him running up the stone steps was the only sound that filled the prison. Then, all was silent.

"Can you believe it? This was the second time I rescued his ass and he doesn't even show a little bit of appreciation." She gave Alvar a keen look and then sighed, dropping the attitude. "Oh well. He is out. We should get going." Vitoria was about to take the first step towards the stairs, when Alvar grabbed her wrist, making her freeze in her movements. The Assassin pulled her back, his eyes narrowed.

"Guards are coming," he hissed as his mind was racing with potential escaping plans.

Vitoria frowned and after a couple of seconds listening intently, she heard the heavy boots coming down the stairs. Did the kid gave away their position? Or did one of the guards entered the building? It didn't matter now – they were trapped in a prison. One way in, one way out.

A wave of panic washed over her as her eyes were glued to the end of the cold hallway they were standing in. "What do we do?" she hissed back.

Alvar grabbed the torch from the wall. "I hope you can find your way in the dark," he mumbled. Then he dropped the torch on the floor, putting out the already weak flame. The room was now completely filled in darkness.


End file.
